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For every celebrity winning critical acclaim or an Academy Award there’s another celeb or two who turned down that same meaty role. While we’re sure they had good reasons for their decisions, we’re also wondering how hard they kick themselves after realizing they passed up “The Big One.” Behold celebrities who turned down the roles of a lifetime.
- Molly Ringwald – Molly Ringwald turned down the role of Vivian in “Pretty Woman” and the role of Molly in “Ghost” among others. She was also offered a part in Scream which she turned down because she was in her late 20’s and didn’t want a teenage role. Also, she was offered Leah Thompson’s role in “Some Kind of Wonderful” which she turned down severing her relationship with John Hughes. Personally, I can’t see her in any of those roles and never felt she was all that great of an actress anyway. She’s good with whiny roles, however. I’ll give her that.
- Mel Gibson – Turned down the lead role in Gladiator. A role which landed Russell Crowe the Academy Award. Mel also turned down the part of Robin Hood in “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.” Instead, that part went to a not very belieaveable Kevin Costner.
- Alec Baldwin – The role of Richard Kimball in “The Fugitive” was originally offered to Alec. After he turned it down, it went to Harrison Ford.
- Sigourney Weaver – Turned down the role of Ada in “The Accused,” a part that later went to Kelly McGillis, and the lead role in “A Handmaid’s Tale.”
- Keanu Reeves turned down Charlie Sheen’s role in “Platoon.” And really, thank goodness for that. The role should definitely go to someone who can act.
- Gillian Anderson – The former X-Files star was originally offered the role of Bethany Sloane in “Dogma.” She said, “no thanks” and the part wen to Linda Fiorentino instead.
- Warren Beatty - Turned down the role of Jack Horner in “Boogie Nights.” The part was then offered to a smarmy looking Burt Reynolds. Warren also turned down James Caan’s role in “Misery”, the part of Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street” and Robert Redford’s role in “The Sting.” Granted, Warren’s had some decent roles and he’s a good actor. But we’re thinking he’s not a very good judge of a good script. He accepts “Dick Tracy” and turns down “The Sting?” Does anyone else see something wrong with this picture?
- Melanie Griffith – Melanie Griffith turned down the role of “Thelma” in “Thelma and Louise.” Incidentally, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster were originally cast as Thelma and Louise but had to drop out as pre-production dragged on.
- Sarah Michelle Gellar – Scheduling conflicts prevented her from accepting the role as Cher in “Clueless.”
- Richard Grieco – The “21 Jump Street” star turned down the lead role in “Speed” because he thought the script sucked. I guess he’s still turning down sucky scripts because it’s not like we’ve seen him in anything but the plastic surgeon’s office since the early 90’s.
- Madonna - I guess we should be thankful but Madonna turned down Michelle Pfeiffer’s role in “The Fabulous Baker Boys.”
- Denzel Washington – Turned down the role of Curtis in “Dreamgirls”, the lead in “I Robot”, and it’s rumored he turned down the role of “Ray Charles” in Ray.
- Will Smith – Turned down the role that eventually went to Keanu Reeve in “The Matrix”, and the role of Stu in “Phone Booth.”
- Julia Roberts – Turned down Sharon Stone’s leg crossing role in “Basic Instinct,” the role of Mary Corleone in “Godfather III” the role of Annie in “Sleepless in Seattle,” the lead role of “Shakespeare in Love” and the role of Lucy in “While You Were Sleeping.”
- Leonardo DiCaprio – Offered the part of Dirk Diggler in “Boogie Nights” before it was given to Mark Wahlberg and the lead role in “The Matrix”.
- Mark Wahlberg – Turned down the role of Linus in “Ocean’s 11″.
- Tom Cruise – Before Johnny Depp made the role his own, Tom Cruise signed on to play Donnie Brasco in the film of the same name. Tom was also to play the lead role in “Footloose” and ended up turning that down as well.
- Jennifer Jason Leigh – Jennifer Jason Leigh is another of the actresses who landed the role of Vivian in “Pretty Woman” and later turned it down.
- John Travolata – Turned down the role of Forrest Gump.
- Tom Hanks – Turned down the role of Ray Kinsella in “Field of Dreams,” Andy Dufresne in “The Shawshank Redemption” and the lead role in “Jerry Maguire.”
Also check out:
Before They Were Stars – 50 Celebrity First Jobs
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Will Smith as Neo and John Travolata as Forrest Gump
loool that would be funny.
Originally Tom Selleck was offered the role of Indiana Jones (which was of course given to Harrison Ford), but he had to decline so he could be Magnum, P.I.
Guess that’s good ’cause I couldn’t imagine anyone but Tom as Magnum.
Thank Goodness Madonna turned down Those Fabulous Baker Boys.
Michelle’s one of my favorites, and that’s one of my favorite movies.
One can only imagine……
John Travolata? Never heard of him
Leo D with a big D ahahaha!!!
I find it hard to believe that Marl Wahlberg turned down “Linus” in “Ocean’s 13″ considering that Matt Damon had the role secured for Ocean’s 11 and Ocean’s 12 already. They wouldn’t have re-cast the same role if Damon dropped out. They would have changed the character. That one I don’t buy for a second.
Heh, you forgot Sean Connery’s refusal to play the role of “Gandalf” in Peer Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Sir Connery said that appearing in a film based on a “fantasy book” would damage his reputation.
After the great success of The Fellowship of the Ring, he tried to make up by accepting the lead role in “The League of the Extraordinary Gentlemen” … Go figure.
Mickey Rooney turned down Archie Bunker.
How can this list leave off Sylvester Stallone?
During an interview with Howard Stern on 1/24/2008 (http://www.howardstern.com/rundown.hs?d=1201150800) he admitted he turned down the following roles over the course of his career:
- a starring turn in the original “Superman,”
- Axel Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop,”
- “Die Hard,”
- “Witness,”
- “Coming Home,”
- “Romancing the Stone,”
- Travolta’s role in “Face/off,”
and “Rules of Engagement.”
Lol, so Keanu was at least the 3rd choice for Neo.
These make you think about a couple things though. Maybe some of these actors sensed that they were not right for the part. Much as if I am offered a programming job but in a sub-field or framework that I am not accustomed, I feel it’s best to go with a job that fits me best when considering multiple offers rather than have a sub-par fit and resulting less than great project results. Of course what the list doesn’t quantify is what movies / projects they were working on in lieu of those listed.
Don’t forget, Jean Reno turned down Agent Smith, to do the Matrix.
leo turned down boogie nights for titanic. smart move career-wise, even though boogie nights is the better film…
I’ve hear that Jimmy Cagney turned down the role of Rick in Casablanca.
Great list. But you forgot two biggies.
Anthony Quinn turned down The Godfather lead as he thought that the flick would tank.
And Frank Sinatra passed on Dirty Harry as he had the flu and couldn’t be bothered finishing the script….
Thanks for pointing out my typo regarding “Ocean’s 13″ Mark Wahlberg actually turned down the role for Ocean’s 11.
Also, for those of you offering your own items to the list, thanks! This is going to be a regular feature and I’ll have more of these for you each week.
- Deb
According to a biography of John Wayne, “Dirty Harry” was written for him. But he turned it down because he believed that good guys should be 100% good.
The success of “Dirty Harry” was the reason the Duke made those crappy cop films at the end of his career, trying to make up for the mistake.
Heath Ledger was supposedly up for the role of Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) in No Country For Old Men, but turned it down to take time off.
A classic – Gary Cooper turned down the role of Rhett Butler in “Gone With The Wind” saying “Gone with the Wind is going to be the biggest flop in Hollywood history.”
Derek … I don’t think that’s true about Gary Cooper. I’ve read that the role was always Clark Gable’s and David O. Selznick had to do some maneuvering to get him.
One point to make is that all of these people – like Tom Hanks, for example, were making pretty good choices while turning down some other equally good choices.
leo turning down boogie nights was a good move for him. he decided to do titanic instead
You forgot, Warren Beatty was origanlly supposed to be Bill in the “Kill Bill” movies.
Leo DiCaprio was also up for the lead in American Psycho, but technically he didn’t turn it down…they preferred Christian Bales’s reading, and they couldn’t have been more right!
warren beatty didn’t “accept” the role of dick tracy
“Dick Tracy is a 1990 action-adventure film based upon the Dick Tracy comic strip created by Chester Gould. Warren Beatty directed, produced and starred in the leading role.”
dave chappelle was also asked to do bubba from Forrest Gump.
“Chappelle was offered the role of Bubba in Forrest Gump, which was in a pre-production stage. Not realizing the impact this future Academy Award winner for Best Picture would have, and concerned about what seemed to be a racially demeaning character, he turned down the part. He has since admitted to regretting the decision”
How about Tom Hanks in Jerry Macguire. I know Tom Cruise gets flack, but seriously no one else could have played that part. Hanks is too goofy and lovable to have played such an anti-hero, and he cant pull of the hotshot thing at all. I think thats the most surprising one of all on the list
As someone has pointed out Tom Selleck turned down the role of Indiana to play Magnum. What did some of the other actors accept instead of the roles they turned down. When two pictures are being filmed at the same time an actor can only be in one. It may be that other one we remember them for and can not remember the role that was refused.
Tom Selleck didn’t turn down the role of Indiana Jones…he wanted it, but was already committed to Magnum and the producers refused to accomodate the shooting schedule. And he had already been Magnum for some time when the opportunity came up.
Bing Crosby, the greatest singer ever and an Academy Award winner for “Going My Way,” turned down the role of Columbo because he was too busy playing golf and going on fishing and hunting trips.
Two typos on the Warren Beatty entry: (1) it’s B*u*rt Reynolds, not Bert. And (2) it’s Dick Tracy, not Dick Tracey.
Forgot one.
Chevy Chase gave up the role that went to Kevin Spacey in American Beauty.
I thought I read somewhere that Denzel Washington turned down Dreamgirls and Ray because he can’t sing. I could be wrong.
Didn’t Nick Nolte pass on both Star Wars and The Untouchables? Talk about a mistake…
IIRC, there should also be a laundry list for people who turned down roles just in Apocalypse Now, including, if I’m not mistaken, Al Pacino, Steve McQueen, and James Caan.
Pacino has also passed on some real biggies, including Born on the Fourth of July, Star Wars, Pretty Woman, Crimson Tide, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Pretty ballsy for a guy who was in Two for the Money.
How could you omit one of the most infamous turn-downs ever -
Martin Landau in 1965, turning down the role of “Spock” on ST:TOS, because a character without emotions presented no challenge to an actor of his stature…
Didn’t Nick Nolte pass on both Star Wars and The Untouchables? Talk about a mistake…
Julia Roberts turned down Sharon Sotne’s role in Basic Instinct! Boy! What a miss!
Tina
http://www.ekhichdi.com/general-discussion/zahra-amir-ebrahimi-the-sex-scandal-girl-from-iran
Not only would Travolta have tanked as Gump, but he never would have appeard in Pulp Fiction. Talk about a double whammy.
ARSENIO HALL TURNED DOWN THE ROLE GIVEN TO WILL SMITH IN BAD BOYS.
Dick Tracy was a huge success. I dunno what youre talking about as far as criticizing Beatty for doing it.
John Travolta?good thing he turned down the role of Forrest Gump,..Tom Hanks was perfect for it,he was the one! i couldn’t imagine the movie if it was John Travolta!
Sorry but many of these roles were worth passing on. Robin Hood – sh*t movie regardless of who’s there. Does anyone regret not being in Dogma? Godfather III? Excuse me, I just puked in my mouth a little.
Interesting list. It’s funny how circumstances work out. Most of the actors/movies I can’t imagine in hindsight now.
Daniel Day-Lewis passed up the role of Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings on multiple occasions
I heard that Alec Baldwin tuned down Batman(1989)
also a slew of actors turned down SPEED,including Johnny Depp,William Baldwin and Matt Dillon just to name a few …Dillon passed on a role in INDEPEDANCE DAY which went to Will Smith & John Travolta passed on tons of projects,including DIRTY DANCING,CHICAGO,
FORREST GUMP,ARMAGEDDON & AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN. Christopher Reeve passed on the part of Sgt. Murtah in LETHAL WEAPON.
What is wrong with Denzel?! The movies he turned down were great, but how could he turn them down? They were excellent movies. What a shame.
i agress this was a cool little article to read ,most made good choices some must be like damn like molly ringwald turning down pritty women .ghost and scream bad move all #1 movies but i love the acttores who did play them!!!!!!!!!!
Uh, boxerdude, number 7. He turned down the role in Ocean’s 11. Not 13. He was originally cast for the part, but backed out. Matt Damon was asked to play Linus shortly after.
I would have so much more enjoyed Julia Roberts’ interrogation scene in Basic Instinct. Sigh.
Sometimes these actors and actresses have only themselves to blame for their careers being in the crapper. For instance, I remember reading that Natalie Wood turned down the role of Bonnie in the Bonnie & Clyde movie that eventually went to Faye Dunaway. This turned out to be a classic, and it certainly would have have given her career a boost. She also turned down a few other good roles, which is why today she is known as an actress who never lived up to her full potential.
Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf in Lord of the Rings
Sean Young originally was cast in the role of Vicki Vale in 1989’s “Batman” but had to drop out due to injuring her arm in a horse riding accident. The role, of course, went to Kim Basinger and the film became the #1 box office hit of the year.