If the leads in Titanic had been Matthew McConaughey and Claire Danes, would the movie still have become a blockbuster? It is difficult to imagine since, in most cases, what makes certain movies, and especially characters, unforgettable are the actors who play them. So much so that, after watching the production, it is practically impossible to imagine another artist playing that same role. Yet, casting in the movie and television industry tend to happen fortuitously, and if it weren’t for a series of fateful events, the characters of our favorite movies could have been portrayed by completely different actors. At times, as much as an actor may want to get a role, their performance during auditions ends up sidelining them. On other occasions, even when they do get the role, they are dismissed for different reasons.

While there are some parts that screenwriters tailor specifically with one actor in mind, many others are offered to several performers before they get to the actor who lands the role. Thanks to that string of actors turning down roles, some of the most iconic characters ever to grace the silver screen were forged. It’s hard to imagine Viggo Mortensen as Wolverine or Sandra Bullock headlining The Matrix as Neo now, but both of those things could have happened, except for the fact that the actors turned down those roles to prioritize other projects. Sometimes, the reasons behind rejecting a role are even deeper and more personal. Therefore, in this article we will revisit the conflicts that led some actors to turn down major roles.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

8 Jennifer Connelly — Pretty Woman

     Universal Pictures

Despite having some prior experience in the movie industry, the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman was the production that turned Julia Roberts into one of the most successful leading actresses in the industry. The romantic tale of sex worker Vivian Ward and wealthy Edward Lewis (Richard Gere) became one of the most beloved rom-coms in history and the third-highest-grossing film of 1990. However, the lead couple in this hit could have been slightly different, as Garry Marshall, the film’s director, had a number of actresses in mind, with Jennifer Connelly actually being the frontrunner. Eventually, the actress decided to back out of the project as she considered herself too young to play the role, and as a result Roberts ended up getting her best-known gig.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

7 Benicio Del Toro — Star Trek Into Darkness

     This Is That Productions

Star Trek is one of the most famous science fiction franchises worldwide, and features some of the industry’s biggest stars in its productions. When director J.J. Abrams started working on Star Trek Into Darkness, he initiated a conversation with Puerto Rican actor and producer Benicio del Toro to play the villainous Khan Noonien Singh. After some intense negotiations, they were unable to reach an agreement on the amount of money that the actor would receive for the role, resulting in Khan being played by Benedict Cumberbatch instead.

6 Christina Applegate — Legally Blonde

     FOX

Christina Applegate first rose to fame as Kelly Bundy on the hit sitcom Married…with Children. Her role on the show was as the stereotypical dumb blonde, a gorgeous, promiscuous girl who enjoyed dating guys who were anything but the best fit for her. After the end of the show, Applegate was offered the lead role in the hit Legally Blonde, the movie that follows popular sorority girl Elle Woods’ road to becoming a successful lawyer. Yet, out of fear of landing a role that was too similar to Kelly Bundy, Applegate decided it would be best not to accept the offer, so Elle Woods’ part ended up in Reese Witherspoon’s hands, earning her worldwide recognition for her work.

5 Denzel Washington — Se7en

     Paramount Pictures

Se7en is a 1995 crime thriller starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman as David Mills and William Somerset, two detectives who must work together to track down a serial killer who schemes his victims’ deaths inspired by the seven deadly sins. This film earned rave reviews and was very well received by audiences, becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of the year. Yet, its cast kept changing as the project evolved, as the first actor to be offered the role of Detective David Mills was Denzel Washington, who rejected the job and went on to star in another thriller, Devil in a Blue Dress. Washington’s main reason for rejecting Se7en was that he considered it too dark and evil, so he thought the audience wouldn’t be interested in it. And needless to say, after watching the movie, Washington totally regretted his decision.

4 Emma Stone — Ghostbusters: Answer the Call

     Walt Disney Pictures

Emma Stone has starred brilliantly in a number of films across several genres, such as Easy A, La La Land, and Cruella, among many others. By 2012, she went on to play the role of Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man and its 2014 sequel, two movies that marked Peter Parker’s return to the silver screen, attracting millions of fans. Taking part in such a high profile project, as rewarding as it was, represented a big commitment for Stone, and that is why, upon receiving the script for Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, the 2016 reboot, along with the offer to join the cast, she decided not to take it: she was not ready to be part of a another huge franchise yet. Ultimately, the cast of Ghostbusters ended up featuring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones.

3 Hugh Jackman — Casino Royale

     Marvel Entertainment

Australian actor Hugh Jackman rose to fame as Wolverine in the X-Men film series and, from then on, his career kept on rising. While working on X2, the 2003 X-Men sequel, Jackman was offered the chance to succeed Pierce Brosnan as James Bond and star in Casino Royale. At the time, he felt that the James Bond movies had become less believable over the years and were in need of some tweaking, but production was not planning to make any changes to the script. For this reason, plus Jackman’s already heavy workload playing Wolverine, he decided to turn down the role, and it ended up in Daniel Craig’s hands.

2 Anne Hathaway — Knocked Up

     Warner Bros. Pictures

Anne Hathaway is a very well-known actress, most famous for her roles in The Devil Wears Prada, Les Misérables, and Ocean’s 8, among many others. When Judd Apatow started working on the film Knocked Up, Hathaway was one of the first actresses he considered for the lead role. The movie would be about a one-night stand between two totally opposite people that would end with an unexpected pregnancy, and it would include an explicit childbirth scene. Hathaway, who was not a mother at the time, felt that she could not play the role, let alone the birth scene, until she had experienced motherhood for herself, so she turned down the part. The movie, which premiered in 2006, was ultimately co-starred by Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen.

1 Jack Nicholson — The Godfather

     TriStar Pictures

Actor and filmmaker Jack Nicholson is considered to be one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, boasting a repertoire full of hits such as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, As Good as It Gets, and The Shining, among many other films. Nicholson took part in some of the greatest classics in movie-making history, but there was one he opted to pass up: The Godfather. When Francis Ford Coppola started working on the film, he was considering many actors to join the cast, and Nicholson was offered the part of Michael Corleone, the youngest son of crime boss Vito Corleone. However, the actor declined the role at the time, as he did not have the Italian roots he felt the job required. Eventually, the part went to Al Pacino, becoming his breakthrough role.