7 Actors Who Rejected Movies For Being Too Evil (And Regretted It)
2. Mia Farrow - True Grit (1969)
In the case of 1969's legendary Western True Grit, Mia Farrow wasn't so much concerned with the tenor of the material as she was the hellish reputation of the film's director, Henry Hathaway.
Farrow was offered the role of teenager Mattie Ross, which she actually accepted, but before shooting started she was advised by her Secret Ceremony co-star Robert Mitchum to avoid working with Henry Hathaway due to his infamy for being cruel to actors.
One screenwriter, Wendell Mayes (Anatomy of a Murder, Death Wish), even called Hathaway "probably the toughest son of a bitch in Hollywood."
And with that, Farrow first asked producer Hal B. Wallis to replace Hathaway with Roman Polanski, who she'd previously worked with on Rosemary's Baby, but Wallis declined.
As a result, Farrow exited the film, with the part ultimately going to Kim Darby.
In later years Farrow went on to describe her choice as her "biggest personal and professional mistake." Yikes.