10 Casting 'What Ifs' From Buffy The Vampire Slayer
6. Katie Holmes
Holmes is an accomplished actor. Her roles in Dawson's Creek and Batman Begins are what she is best known for, as well as her marriage to Tom Cruise which ended in 2012. Historically she has kept a low profile, and has turned down a number of prominent roles throughout her career. Two in particular stick out; Piper Chapman in Orange Is The New Black, and - most fascinatingly - Buffy Summers.
It is of course impossible to imagine anybody else apart from Sara Michelle Gellar in the role today. And yet, as unthinkable as it seems, Gellar was not the first choice. Holmes was originally offered the part, but turned it down so that she could attend and finish high school - she was only 19 at the time. Shortly after, she auditioned for Dawson's Creek via videotape.
Buffy Summers would not feel like the same role without the effortless charisma and heart that Gellar brought to the character, but the prospect of Holmes taking on the slayer's mantle is enough at least to get you thinking. It is also a mystery as to what Holmes' own career might have looked like had she accepted the part.