5. Marlon Brando - Superman II
The casting of Marlon Brando as Jor-El in Richard Donner's 1978 Superman: The Movie lent a certain credibility to the production that few others could have provided. Unfortunately, Brando came with a hefty price tag: $3.7 million plus close to 12% of the film's profits. In total, Brando banked about $19 million for about 15 minutes of screen time. Brando was his usual notoriously difficult self: initially suggesting that Jor-El appear on screen as a suitcase or a green bagel and requiring cue cards as he refused to learn any of his lines. Brando had already filmed his scenes for Superman II as the two films were initially being filmed simultaneously. It was only after an overlong shooting schedule and after numerous production logistics, that director Richard Donner and the producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind decided to focus on the first film only. Superman: The Movie was a huge hit and work on the sequel would continue but Donner butted heads with the Salkinds over their desire to make the sequel more campy than the original, and he was eventually fired and replaced with Richard Lester. The Salkinds decided not to use Brando's already filmed footage to avoid having to pay his massive fee. Despite Jor-El's absence and Gene Hackman's obvious body double in the final scene in the Fortress of Solitude (Hackman quit in solidarity after Donner was fired and refused to reshoot any scenes for Lester) and the film's silly humor, Superman II was still a great film. For a glimpse of what might have been had Donner stayed on and Brando's footage been used, check out Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut.