20 actors who TURNED DOWN huge movie roles 😱
How different would these films have been?
Last updated 28th Apr 2022
The film industry is a competitive business, but sometimes famous actors get offered a role that they just don't want to do. From Gwyneth Paltrow to Hugh Jackman, some pretty huge names have turned down roles in box office hits such as Titanic, Pirates of the Caribbean and even James Bond.
Even the legendary Will Smith has turned down a huge role in his time - he was originally offered the role of Neo in The Matrix, however, as we all know, this was eventually played by Keanu Reeves.
Here are 20 actors who rejected huge movie roles:
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Paltrow, Rose - Titanic
Kate Winslet played Rose in Titanic after Paltrow turned it down.
Anne Hathaway
Anne Hathaway, Tiffany - Silver Linings Playbook
Jennifer Lawrence swooped in and won an Oscar - Ouch!
Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington, Detective David Mills - Se7en
Denzel passed up on the role of David because the film was too dark.
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie - Gravity
Sandra Bullock took the lead when Angelina dropped out of the project.
Al Pacino
Al Pacino, Hans Solo - Star Wars Episode IV
He turned down the role because he didn't understand the story, thankfully Harrison Ford did!
Bill Murray
Bill Murray, Forrest - Forrest Gump
Bill rejected the role of Forrest Gump and Tom Hanks picked it up and ran with it
Sir Ian McKellen
Sir Ian McKellen, Dumbledore - Harry Potter
Michael Gambon took over, McKellen can't be all of the wizards…
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman, Bond - James Bond
Maybe he could be next one?
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill - The Hangover
Jonah said no to a part in The Hangover to focus on dramatic acting.
Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson, Michael Corleone - The Godfather
He turned down the role as he felt it was made for Al Pacino.
Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey, Captain Jack Sparrow - Pirates of the Caribbean
Can you imagine anyone other than Johnny Depp?
Kevin Costner
Kevin Costner, Andy Dufresne - The Shawshank Redemption
Kevin rejected the part and Tim Robbins made a quick escape with the role.
Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson, Maximus - Gladiator
Mel turned down the role of Maximus and Russell Crowe stepped in.
Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton, Phil - Groundhog Day
He turned down the role in Groundhog Day, the part went to Bill Murray.
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio, Patrick Bateman - American Psycho
Christian Bale took the role of Patrick Bateman when Leo wasn't interested.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon, Two-Face - The Dark Knight
Aaron Eckhart took the role of Two-Face after Matt rejected it.
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer, Vivian - Pretty Woman
Michelle turned down the role as she didn't like the tone of the script.
Nicolas Cage
Nicolas Cage, Aragorn - The Lord of the Rings
Nic Cage turned down the role so Viggo Mortensen stepped up.
Sir Sean Connery
Sir Sean Connery, Gandalf - The Lord of the Rings
He handed it over to Sir Ian McKellen, who he describes as 'marvellous'.
Will Smith
Will Smith, Neo - The Matrix
Will rejected the part of Neo and Keanu Reeves got the job.
Below are some iconic clips from films that were turned down by famous actors.
Angelina Jolie was offered the role of astronaut Ryan Stone in the 2013 film Gravity, but she turned it down and it was offered to Sandra Bullock. Amazingly Sandra was also on the verge of also turning down the role, but luckily she didn't and it gave her an Academy Award nomination.
'The Fresh Prince's Will Smith was originally offered the role of computer programmer Neo in The Matrix. When he turned it down it was also offered to Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt and Val Kilmer, all of whom also turned it down. The role was eventually played by Keanu Reeves.
Gwyneth Paltrow turned down the role of Rose in the 1997 disaster film Titanic, now we can't imagine anyone by Kate Winslet playing the part.
Madness!
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