21 Actors You Didn't Know Were Almost Cast In Star Wars

3. Jodie Foster Was Almost Princess Leia

When asked by Total Film is it was true that George Lucas wanted her to play Princess Leia before he turned to Carrie Fisher, Foster confirmed as much, and offered the reason that she could not take the role on:

"I was doing two films back-to-back at the time. It would have been fun. But my career would have been different and I€™m happy with the one I€™ve got so I don€™t really regret it. And honestly, I was 14 or 15 at the time and it was when they were still conceiving those characters as very young. By the time they got to making it, they had a totally different conception of the film."

Clearly, back when she was in contention, Lucas probably didn't conceive of Leia as a love interest for Han Solo - particularly given the casting choices he was initially looking at for that role - so it's likely that had she been cast, we would have seen an entirely different character, and a wholly different film. And given her later assertion that she felt uncomfortable with the feminine aspects of Bugsy Malone, it is somewhat difficult to think of her in Leia's bikini. You also have to suggest that part of the decision not to take the role might have come from her mother, who influenced her taking a role in Taxi Driver:

"She was a big fan of Martin Scorsese and she wanted me to be in films where I was taken seriously and that were about important topics."

It's hardly like she would have achieved the same objectives with Star Wars.