There’s a saying in the film world that “actors turn down more roles than they accept.” Whilst this may be accurate, turning down countless roles isn’t always a fruiful exercise. Some of the films that actors disregard transpire in becoming massive critical and profitable sensations. What’s worse for an actor is when they instead opt to partake in a project which results in becoming a colossal critical and commercial flop. An example of such a catastrophic decision would be Will Smith’s choice to turn down the legendary role of Neo in The Matrix, in favour of appearing in Wayward Western Wild Wild West.
Multiple times was Daniel Day-Lewis presented with the role of Aragorn in Lord of The Rings and much to the frustration of Peter Jackson, multiple times he declined. We all know that Daniel Day Lewis is widely reknowned as being one of the most choosy actors in film history, appearing in under 20 films throughout his 35 year career. With this in mind, it was always going to be improbable that Day-Lewis would pledge himself to three films at one time, so perhaps the makers of The Lord Of The Rings approached him for the role more in hope than in expectation.
Should he have accepted it, this legendary role really could have catapulted Tom Selleck from the modest stardom of Television, to the dizzy heights of being a big time movie star. For one reason or another Selleck, despite being a very talented actor, has never quite made it in the film arena. His performances on famed shows such as Magnum PI and Friends have recieved widespread critical praise, however for the most part, these performances have not transpired onto the big screen. But in 1982, Selleck’s TV heroics finally caught the eye of a certain Steven Spielberg, who thought that he’d be perfect as the celebrated adventurer Indiana Jones.
Evidently, snubbing the role of Jason Bourne hasn’t exactly hindered Brad Pitt’s scintillating career to date. Since declining the role, he has become one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, figuring in several other prominent films during the mid noughties, such as Ocean’s Eleven, Inglourious Basterds and Mr and Mrs Smith, and Oscar nominations for Moneyball and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Believe it or not but Keanu Reeves was actually the 6th or 7th choice to portray Neo in the Matrix. I admit this does seem unlikely, given the highly astute casting, but it is true that Reeves was not even in the frame as the favoured choice of the Wachowski’s. Amongst the priorities was Men in Black star, Will Smith. (Others considered were the likes of Nicolas Cage and Leonardo Di Caprio.)
As fate would have it, two life-changing roles fell on the lap of actor Tom Hanks simultaneously. Hanks was first choice for the role of Andy Dufrasne in the 1994 classic The Shawshank Redemption, a film often considered to be the best of the 90s and one of the best of all time. Despite being keen to do the movie, he turned the film down because he was too commited to Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump, therefore he regrettably had to decline. (He of course went on to win an Oscar for his performance in Forrest Gump, a film which also won Best Picture, beating Shawshank to the major awards that year.)
The now often overlooked Shakespeare in Love star Gwyneth Paltrow was at one time James Cameron’s preferred choice for the blockbuster character of Rose in the 1997 epic picture Titanic. Unbelievably Paltrow in a moment of unmitigated madness, rebuffed this legendary opportunity, simply stating that it just wasn’t “her cup of tea.” (Which pleads the question, “if thats not her cup of tea, then what is?”)
I’m starting to wonder where Harrison Ford’s career would be now, should Al Pacino and Tom Selleck have accepted his most famed roles of Han Solo and Indiana Jones. Probably nowhere. They have been the defining roles of Ford’s career and without them in his armory, his film resumé looks rather mediocre.
Jack Nicholson will be remembered as one of the greatest film actors of all time. He was The Joker in the original Batman movie, Jack Torrance in The Shining, and the eccentric R.P McMurphy in One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. But how fantastic would it be if Nicholson could insert into his legendary resumé the role of Michael Corleone in the Godfather Trilogy. Sadly, this dream of many a film buff, never materialized in real life. Nicholson decided that is wasn’t the role for him, and declined, in the belief that he was too old to play Corleone, and instead he commited to the 1973 comedy “The Last Detail,” (a role which won him an Oscar nomination.)
Captain Jack Sparrow has to be considered as one of the most legendary cinematic characters of the 21st Century. Johnny Depp puts in such a ground-breaking performance in bringing this off-kilter pirateer to life, that you’d have to possess a very vivid imagination to visualize anyone else in the role. So with this in mind, it is perhaps somewhat surprising that Johnny Depp wasn’t actually the first choice for Jack Sparrow. Yes, initially director Gore Verbinksi offered Jim Carrey (another oddball of Hollywood) the role of Jack Sparrow. Unfortunately for Carrey, production schedule of The Curse of The Black Pearl coinicided with the shoot of Bruce Almighty, presenting him with no choice but to pass up the role that could easily have proved exceedingly lucrative for his career.
Meg Ryan will forever be remembered as one half of the famous twosome between herself and Tom Hanks in You’ve Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle. Whilst Hanks was able to progress on from the Rom-com arena and further his career, Ryan was not, and despite being a very capable actress, she’s never quite made it in terms of critically acclaimed performances in major Oscar worthy films. Al Pacino (him again!) also turned down the Richard Gere role, though it’s hard to imagine the film working so well with him in it.
Evidently the role of Harvey Dent isn’t exactly the standout character in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.” The storyline surrounding Dent plays very much the second fiddle to the epic encounter between the Joker and Batman. So in this sense, you could argue that the role of Harvey Dent isn’t exactly legendary cinematic character material. Matt Damon was Christopher Nolan’s first choice for the role of Harvey Dent, however it seems like the Jason Bourne star wasn’t too keen on collaborating with the British/American filmmaker, as he turned down the movie due to a minor (and still unknown) “scheduling conflict!”.
Michelle Pfeiffer is very much the actress of yesteryear. She is famed primarily for her performances in late 80’s and early 90’s pictures, such as Dangerous Liasions, Batman Returns and The Fabulous Baker Boys, (for which she both received Oscar nominations). This lucrative period in her career could have been even more fruitful, should she have accepted the legendary role of Clarice Sterling in Silence Of The Lambs. However she foolishly turned down this part, in the assertion that the film was so violent and sadistic that it would become a commerical flop. So as a result of this painful misjudgement, she has had to agonizingly watch in silence, as Jodie Foster (her replacement) put in an Academy Award winning turn as the eminent FBI Agent.
Sir Ian McKellen put in such a resounding performance as the erudite wizard Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings, that the makers of Harry Potter, (after the death of Richard Harris,) were desperate to see him return to the world of Wizardry and play the equally legendary sorcerer of Albus Dumbledore. However understandably, McKellen was not zealous in playing such a comparable role to that of The Lord Of The Rings and he is quoted as saying this: “I’ve had enough trouble living up to one legend, It’d too much of an ask to live up to another one.”
So when the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy in “The Blind Side” came through her letterbox, you’d assume she’d be hasty in latching onto an opportunity to resurrect her film career and once again be a strong contender in the Oscar season. After all, success in this role, could have been the platform to revitilized prominence in Hollywood! However, for some unknown reason, Julia Roberts shunned a chance to appear in this film. With a drab period of 12 years without an Academy Award nomination to her name, this decision seemed like a strange one. Instead, the role went to Sandra Bullock, who put in a miraculously heartfelt performance as Leigh, culminating in an Oscar for her portrayal…
Michael Madsen is very much a long overlooked and forgotten actor. In fact, in recent years he has been so sidelined from Hollywood that he resorted to appearing in the new series of Celebrity Big Brother, amongst the all-star cast of Frankie Cocozza and Ryan Giggs’ ex wife. Madsen is probably most famous for his roles in the Tarantino films such as Mr. Blonde in Reservoir Dogs and Budd in the Kill Bill Volumes. However neither of those roles defined his career, like the role of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction would have. Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as one of the greatest films of all time and John Travolta’s portrayal of Vincent Vega in Tarantino’s cult hit was the point in which he managed to turn around his spiralling career.
Never has there been such an epic role in the history of cinema than that of Gandalf in The Lord Of The Rings. Sir Ian McKellen puts in such a virtuoso display as the sagacious wizard, that imagining someone else in the role is actually rather testing. But someone else in the role it nearly was. Ex-007 Sean Connery was Peter Jackson’s preferred choice for Gandalf. In fact Jackson wanted Connery so desperately, it was reported that he was repeatedly offered in excess of $6 million per film! However Sean Connery wasn’t tempted by these financial enticements and passed on this legendary role in Tolkein’s fantasy trilogy, on account of the fact that he couldn’t fathom the “complexity” of the plot. He is quoted as saying this: “I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it.” Despite this bizarre reasoning from Connery, this still has to go down as one of Connery’s worst film decisions of all time. In fact, turning down this legendary role cost the Scotsman $450 million if you include the 15% box office profits that he was
For many months, Liam Neeson was scheduled to play Lincoln in this epic Steven Spielberg biopic of the inspirational American President. However after hours and hours of research into the role, Neeson (mistakenly) determined that he was too old to do the heroic American leader the justice he deserved. There is also evidence to suggest that Neeson was frustrated with the tardiness nature of the project, as he had been ascribed to the film since 2005 and by 2010, it still looked no closer to being made.
Mark Wahlberg has many strengths as an actor, but perhaps playing a self confessed gay man isn’t one of them. He himself admitted that he was a bit “creeped out” by the whole gay theme running through “Brokeback Mountain”, which was most probably the reason behind him declining the role. Yes, Wahlberg was the first choice for the role of Jack Twist in Ang Lee’s homosexual spectacle, however, after he vehemently vetoed the character and the film, the role ended up going to Jake Gyllenhaal, an actor who seems more confident in his own manliness that he can play a gay man without embarrassment.
Mel Gibson has already verified that he can credibly play the lead in epic historical dramas, when he portrayed heroic Scotsman William Wallace in Oscar winning hit Braveheart. So when he was approached by director Ridley Scott, concerning the lead role in Gladiator, it was presumed that Gibson would welcome the role with open arms and relish the opportunity to once again play the role of enigmatic warrior.
There is not a more legendary role in the history of cinema than that of 007, James Bond. There have been a grand total of 23 Bond films, complete with five 5 very different actors and in my opinion, it is no coincidence that the worst Bond to date has been George Lazenby. Any particular reason? Oh that’s right, he’s Australian. So with this in mind, it’s hard to believe that fellow Australian star Hugh Jackman was offered the role of James Bond in Casino Royale.
