15 Very Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles, And Some Of Them Truly Regret It Now
Fiyin Olowokandi
6 min read
15 Very Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles, And Some Of Them Truly Regret It Now
1. Rachel McAdams as Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada.
Axelle / FilmMagic / Getty Images, 20thcentfox / ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett CollectionMcAdams was the first choice to play Andy Sachs. According to the film’s director, David Frankel, the studio wanted an established actor to play the role, but McAdams turned them down three times. Eventually, of course, the role went to Anne Hathaway, who in an appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2021, revealed that she was actually the ninth choice for the role.
2. Harrison Ford as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park.
Jesse Grant / Getty Images for Disney, Mca / ©MCA/Courtesy Everett Collection
According to the film’s director, Steven Spielberg, Ford was his first choice to play the role. During a 30th-anniversary screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, while sitting next to Ford, Spielberg told the crowd, “You know who I offered Jurassic Park to? This guy. Alan Grant, Jurassic Park, right here.”
3. Viggo Mortensen as Wolverine in X-Men.
Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images, 20thcentfox / 20th Century Fox Licensing/Merchandising / Everett Collection
A few years before he would star in The Lord of the Rings films, Mortensen met with the film’s director, Bryan Singer, about playing the iconic character. However, he felt unsure about taking the role because he didn’t like the idea of having to commit to playing the same character for the next several years. Mortensen’s decision to not play the role was cemented when his son Henry — an X-Men fan who he took to the meeting with him — told him the script was “wrong.”
4. John Travolta as the title character in Forrest Gump.
Sarah Morris / Getty Images, Paramount / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection
Travolta has actually turned down several big movie roles throughout his career that ended up going to either Tom Hanks or Richard Gere (Splash and American Gigilo are just two examples). When he was offered the role of Forrest, he turned it down in order to star as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction.
In 2007, MTV asked him: “Do you have any regrets? Like, ‘Oh, if I had done Forrest Gump or Chicago, what might have been?'” to which Travolta replied, “No, because if I didn’t do something Tom Hanks did, then I did something else that was equally interesting or fun. Or, if I didn’t do something Richard Gere did, I did something equally well. But I feel good about some I gave up because other careers were created.”
5. Halle Berry as Annie Porter in Speed.
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images, 20thcentfox / ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
Berry and Keanu Reeves costarred together in 2019’s John Wick: Chapter 3, but they could have been in a film together decades earlier. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Berry revealed that she had been offered Sandra Bullock’s role in Speed. She also went on to say that she regretted turning it down, saying, “I stupidly said no. But in my defense, when I read the script, the bus didn’t leave the parking lot. I was like no, no, no, no. Then, I see the movie, and I’m like, ‘Arrrrghh.'”
6. Leonardo DiCaprio as Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights.
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Netflix, New Line Cinema/ Everett Collection
In a 2008 interview with GQ, DiCaprio said he regretted having to turn down the role of Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights in order to star in Titanic. But for the record, DiCaprio doesn’t regret starring in Titanic ’cause it allowed him to have the career he’s had since. He just wishes he could have done both films.
7. Jack Nicholson as Michael Corleone in The Godfather.
Noel Vasquez / Getty Images, Paramount/ Courtesy Everett Collection
In a 2004 interview with Movieline, the legendary actor was asked if there was ever a movie he turned down because he knew he wasn’t right for the role, even though he knew it would be a hit. Nicholson replied with The Godfather, saying, “Back then, I believed that Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians. Mario Puzo had written such a great book that if you go back to it you’ll see so much of what was special about the movie. There were a lot of actors who could have played Michael, myself included, but Al Pacino was Michael Corleone. I can’t think of a better compliment to pay him.”
8. Madonna as Catwoman in Batman Returns.
Stefanie Keenan / Getty Images for Burberry, Warner Bros / ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
Michelle Pfeiffer’s portrayal of Catwoman isn’t just one of the best comic book performances ever, but arguably one of the best in cinematic history. However, she wasn’t the first choice for the role. In a 2021 appearance on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon asked Madonna if the long-standing rumors that she had turned down the role were true, to which she replied that it was and that she regretted it.
9. Brad Pitt as Neo in The Matrix.
Maria Moratti / Getty Images, / ©Warner Bros/courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection
At the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival (which happened in January 2020 in case you were wondering), Pitt was asked if there ever was an important movie he ever turned down. He said The Matrix and specifically the role of Neo and then added, “I took the red pill. That’s the only one I’m naming.”
10. Jennifer Hudson as the title character in Precious.
Taylor Hill / Getty Images, Lions Gate / ©Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection
In a 2012 interview with Huff Post, Hudson cleared up the rumors that she had turned the role of Precious just because it required her to gain weight, stating that in the draft of the script she read, the character was going places she didn’t want to go.
11. Julia Roberts as Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle.
Taylor Hill / FilmMagic / Getty Images, Tristar Pictures / ©TriStar Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
In a 2014 interview with InStyle, Roberts shared that she had been offered the part, but that she couldn’t do it. She went on to say Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks were both a “jewel of a fit in that.”
12. Eddie Murphy as Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
George Pimentel / WireImage, Buena Vista Pictures / ©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
During an appearance on The Tonight Show in 2019, Murphy said that the only movie he ever turned down that became a big hit was Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He went on to say that at the time he didn’t understand the mixture of animation and live-action, and that he now feels like an “idiot” every time he sees it.
13. Claire Danes as Rose in Titanic.
Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images for Vulture Festival, 20thcentfox / 20th Century Fox Licensing/Merchandising / Everett Collection
In an interview with Dax Shepard on his podcast, Armchair Expert, in 2020, Danes was asked if it was true that she turned down the role. According to her, there was “strong interest” in her for the part — she had just done Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio, so reuniting them on-screen seemed like a natural fit — but she knew the movie was going to be a huge hit and she was “not ready for that.” So, she took herself out of consideration.
14. Amanda Seyfried as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Tristan Fewings / Getty Images for Jaeger-LeCoultre, Walt Disney Co. / ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
In a 2020 interview with the Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast, Seyfried revealed she turned down the chance to star in Guardians because she didn’t want to be “part of the first Marvel movie that bombed.” While she thought the script was great, she didn’t think audiences would want to see a movie “about a talking tree and a raccoon.”
15. And lastly, Reese Witherspoon as Sidney Prescott in Scream.
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for The Hollywood Reporter, Dimension Films / courtesy Everett Collection
Drew Barrymore was famously the first choice to play Sidney, but decided instead to play Casey Becker in the now-iconic opening scene. This left producers scrambling to recast the role, and one of the actors who was offered the part was Witherspoon, who ended up turning it down. But really, you can’t imagine anybody other than Neve Campbell in the role.
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