8 Actors Who Seriously Regret Turning Down Iconic Movie Roles

1. Christopher Plummer - Gandalf (The Lord Of The Rings)

"You shall not pass!"

These words have been rendered endlessly iconic by the great Ian McKellen, whose casting as Gandalf in Peter Jackson's The Lord Of The Rings movies stands as one of the most inspired casting choices since the dawn of cinema. McKellen was born to play Gandalf the Wizard, so it's a struggle to think that he very nearly didn't get the part.

Originally, it was actor Christopher Plummer - famous for his role as Captain von Trapp in the beloved musical The Sound Of Music - who the studio approached to play the role. Of his decision to turn down Middle-Earth's favourite wizard (something he has since admitted to regretting), Plummer said:

"I don't know why I turned it down. I thought 3 or 4 years in New Zealand... I thought there were other countries I would like to visit before I croak. It was a marvellous part and I loved The Lord Of The Rings. I grew up on it actually. It is a great, great, great book and then it became a great film."

He plainly doesn't know why he turned it down, which is fair enough!

Like this article? Do you think any of these actors would have been better in the aforementioned parts than the actors who went on to star? Let us know in the comments.