Stars Who Turned Down Major Movie and TV Roles
Gwyneth Paltrow in Titanic? Brad Pitt in Almost Famous? Some of the most iconic roles in film and TV could have looked very different had they gone to the original casting choices.
Before Billy Crudup brought Stillwater singer Russell Hammond to life in the 2000 music drama, director Cameron Crowe had his eye on Pitt, who was “just starting out” in his now-legendary career. “He just really had something,” Crowe gushed during the premiere episode of the “Origins: Almost Famous Turns Twenty” podcast in July 2020.
Casting director Gail Levin agreed, noting that the Ad Astra star was clearly the team’s “first choice” for the character. “We loved that idea and he was Brad Pitt,” Levin explained on the podcast. “I mean, he was funny and handsome and talented. … That kind of charisma and screen presence would’ve been really, really great for that part.”
While Pitt nailed his audition — and had Crowe “rolling on the floor” in laughter — it just wasn’t the perfect fit for that moment. Crowe even admitted that he “wept” when the Fight Club star pulled out of the project.
“But I think in the back of my brain, I knew that he had never fully fallen in love with the character,” Crowe said. “He had fallen in love with the idea of the character. But, maybe there just wasn’t enough on the page.”
The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor isn’t the only one who turned down the opportunity to take a soon-to-be iconic role. In 2015, Paltrow admitted that she could have starred in 1997’s box office hit, Titanic.
“I look back at the choices I’ve made and think, ‘Why the hell did I say yes to that and no to that?'” she told Howard Stern at the time. “And you know, you look at the big picture and think, ‘There’s a universal lesson here. What good is it to hold onto roles?'”
The Country Strong actress went on to joke that her mother, actress Blythe Danner, wouldn’t be proud of her for spilling industry secrets. “My mother will kill me that I’m talking about turning down movie roles,” she teased. “She says it’s not ladylike.”
Scroll down to find out which stars almost played some of the most iconic roles in film and TV!
Estefan revealed that she was initially offered the leading role in the 1988 film Mystic Pizza, which ultimately went to Julia Roberts. During a September 2020 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, she was asked whether she’s turned down songs that later became huge hits. “Not a song because I usually write most of my songs and I recorded most of them, but I will tell you a movie role I passed on — Mystic Pizza,” the “Get on Your Feet” singer said.
“I had that role. I didn’t even have to audition for it, but at the time I felt like I was not a good enough actor and I wanted to cement my career in music,” she continued. “I thought, one day I will do acting, but I’m not going to throw myself into this and not be good at it.”
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He could have been a "golden God!" Director Cameron Crowe revealed that the Oklahoma native was at the top of his mind while "in the early stages" of casting the beloved 2000 film. "I had a really good meeting with him around the time of Say Anything," Crowe explained during a July 2020 episode of the "Origins: Almost Famous Turns Twenty" podcast. "And he was just starting out, and he just really had something." Pitt read for the role of Russell Hammond, which later went to Billy Crudup, with early Penny Lane favorite Natalie Portman (the role eventually went to Kate Hudson). Ultimately, both Crowe and Pitt realized it wasn't the right fit. "I think in the back of my brain, I knew that he had never fully fallen in love with the character," the director said. "He had fallen in love with the idea of the character. But, maybe there just wasn't enough on the page."
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The Homeland star revealed in a January 2020 episode of the podcast “Armchair Expert” that she had “zero” regrets about not starring in the blockbuster 1997 romance alongside her Romeo + Juliet costar Leonardo DiCaprio. “There was strong interest, but honestly, I’d just made this romantic epic with Leo in Mexico City, which is where they were going to shoot Titanic, and I just didn’t have it in me. … I was just feeling eager to have different creative experiences. That felt like a repeat.”
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During an appearance at the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Pitt revealed that he turned down the opportunity to appear in The Matrix. “I really believe it was never mine. It’s not mine. It’s someone else’s and they go and make it. I really do believe in that,” the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor said during a panel discussion. “I really do. But I did pass on the Matrix. I took the red pill.”
Keanu Reeves starred as Neo in The Matrix, which has spawned several sequels since the original film premiered in 1999.
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It’s hard to imagine anyone other than American treasure Tom Cruise portraying the titular role in Jerry Maguire, but equally celebrated actor Woody Harrelson revealed that the part nearly went to him. “I was offered Jerry Maguire, and I said to Jim [producer James L. Brooks], ‘Nobody is going to give a s--t about an agent,’” the Cheers alum told Esquire for its September 2019 cover story. However, Harrelson could not have been more wrong about the 1996 film, which went on to earn favorable reviews from critics and drummed up $273.5 million at the global box office.
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It’s no secret that Cameron Diaz made her star turn as Jim Carrey love interest Tina Carlyle in The Mask, but the part was nearly played by a very different blonde actress. Ahead of the film’s 25th anniversary, director Chuck Russell revealed to Variety on July 28 that he initially wanted Smith for the role. “Anna was charming and bubbling, but did not have other qualities needed for the role,” he told the publication of the late actress. “I never took the next step to run scenes with her.” Although Diaz had no prior acting credits, Russell wound up asking her to come read for the part after coming across her 8x10 photo on the casting deck. Now, the rest is history!
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Audiences have seen Fraser dabble within the superhero genre before, starring as Cliff Steele/Robotman in Doom Patrol. His resume is also stacked with action movie credits, largely due to his involvement in the Mummy franchise. However, he revealed to Yahoo! Entertainment in June 2019 that he nearly donned a cape to play the Kryptonian hero, which he, literally, tried on for size. “You feel kind of invincible, [like] ‘I can fly,’” he said, describing his experience wearing the iconic Superman suit. “The cape actually makes you think you have the power of flight even though you know you don’t.”
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The Oscar winner was offered the role of Neo before Keanu Reeves landed the gig. “We went out to so many people I don’t remember. We were getting desperate,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told The Wrap in March 2019 ahead of the film’s 20th anniversary. “We went to Sandy Bullock and said, ‘We’ll change Neo to a girl.’ [Producer] Joel Silver and I worked with Sandy on Demolition Man and she was and continues to be a very good friend of mine. It was pretty simple. We sent her the script to see if she was interested in it. And if she was interested in it, we would try to make the change.”
However, Bullock wasn’t interested. “It just wasn’t something for her at the time,” di Bonaventura explained. “So really, it didn’t go anywhere.”
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Julia Stiles’ iconic role almost went to Katie Holmes! Casting director Marica Ross told The New York Times in March 2019 that Holmes was in talks for the part, but “she was about to get Dawson’s Creek and we had to make a decision really fast.”
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Before Julia Stiles landed the gig, Kate Hudson was in consideration to play Heath Ledger’s love interest in the 1999 romantic comedy. Casting director Marcia Ross told The New York Times in March 2019 that she “loved” Hudson, but the actress’ mom, Goldie Hawn, “didn’t like the script for her, so she passed.”
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The Parks & Rec actor initially discussed how he turned down the major TV role in his 2011 memoir, Stories I Only Tell My Friends. Lowe divulged that he was already in contract negotiations to star on an upcoming CBS show called Dr. Vegas when he got a call from the ABC producers. "I agreed to meet with the people making Grey's Anatomy. I had read it and loved it — the writing was crisp, real and very entertaining — and it's always been a good idea to hear out talented people," he recalled. "'We would be thrilled if you would play Dr. Derek Shepherd,' they said right off the bat. I was torn. Grey's was a much better script; in fact, there was no comparison."
During a March 2019 podcast episode of "WTF With Marc Maron," the Californication actor brought it up again. “Dude, I turned down Grey's Anatomy ... to play McDreamy." He added, "That probably cost me $70 million dollars!” The About Last Night star explained, “But at the end of the day, I watched it when it came out, and when they started calling the handsome doctor 'McDreamy,' I said, 'Yeah, that’s not for me.'” The role eventually went to Patrick Dempsey, who played the heartthrob from 2005 to 2015.
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The actor revealed in November 2018 that he auditioned for the role, which eventually went to Leonardo DiCaprio. "I wanted that," he said on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast. "I auditioned with Kate Winslet. Had a good audition. Walked away from there pretty confident that I had it. I didn't get it. I never got offered that."
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Hill almost took on Justin Timberlake’s role as Facebook’s first president in the hit 2010 flick. “Low-key, [director] David Fincher, or high-key, David Fincher didn’t want me in Social Network,” the actor claimed during his appearance on The Bill Simmons Podcast in October 2018. “It was between me and Justin Timberlake for that part. Obviously, [Fincher’s] the man, but he was not having me. The studio wanted me, I think, and then Justin Timberlake was amazing in it. Social Network is the one that I was actually, like, years later, was like, ‘F—k, like, I’m so bummed.’”
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Back in 2013, Hunnam was set to star in the erotica movie, but dropped out shortly filming began started due to scheduling conflicts. The Sons of Anarchy actor, who was replaced by Jamie Dornan, told Variety in September 2015 that leaving the role behind affected him. “Oh, it was the worst professional experience of my life,” he said. “It was the most emotionally destructive and difficult thing that I’ve ever had to deal with professionally.”
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The Harry Potter alum almost played the role that won Emma Stone a Best Actress Oscar in March 2017. During an interview with SiriusXM’s Town Hall that same month, Watson explained that she backed out of the project due to scheduling conflicts with Beauty and the Beast, a film she had been committed to for many years.
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Broken cast! “I was working on it, and I felt we needed a really strong cast, like a famous cast. That wasn’t working out. I asked the usual suspects: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ryan Phillippe. They all said no,” original director Gus Van Sant told IndieWire. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger later signed on for the roles under director Ang Lee.
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The Bad Moms actress talked about turning down Reese Witherspoon’s star-making role in the 2001 comedy in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "The script came along my way and it was right after I had just finished Married [With… Children] and it was, you know, a blonde who was, in that first script, dim-witted but ends up going to Harvard," she said in July 2015. "It was just, I got scared. I got scared of kind of repeating myself."
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"I thought it would box me in too much," the Aussie actor told The Hollywood Reporter in February 2013. "My natural instinct is to keep as many doors open as possible." Previously portrayed by stars such as Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan, the 007 role would later go to Daniel Craig.
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Scarlett Johansson stepped in! The British actress passed on playing superhero Black Widow in 2010’s Iron Man 2. "It was never the right time, really, and it just didn’t work out scheduling-wise," she told Vulture in December 2014.
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Us Weekly revealed in July 2009 that the controversial former child star was originally asked to be in the smash 2009 comedy. She thought the screenplay "had no potential," a source said. "The agent tried to get [director Todd Phillips] to consider her, and when he finally agreed, Lindsay said she didn’t like the script!" Heather Graham signed on instead.
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The Oscar winner was actually offered the 2003 drama (that turned out to be a box-office bomb) before his BFF Ben Affleck was cast. "That's the comic we read when we were kids," Damon told the New York Daily News in September 2015. "But when that one came along (in 2003), I chickened out, because I couldn't tell. I hadn't seen the director's (Mark Steven Johnson) work and I didn't know. So I just said no. Ben was like, 'I gotta do it.'" Affleck’s love interest in the film was his future wife, Jennifer Garner. The couple announced in summer 2015 that they were ending their 10-year marriage.
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What could have been! Roberts reportedly declined to star in the 2009 football drama. Sandra Bullock took over and won an Oscar in the best actress category for her work in 2010.
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Like, as if! The Buffy the Vampire Slayer alumna had to pass on the 1995 classic comedy due to scheduling conflicts. She was playing Kendall Hart at the time in the TV soap All My Children.
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Another redhead! The '80s teen queen was reportedly close to playing then-unknown Julia Roberts’ role in the 1990 classic. "Julia Roberts is what makes that movie. It was her part," Ringwald said during a Reddit Q&A in April 2012. "Every actor hopes for a part that lets them shine like that."
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Another Tom! "I took so long doing the script that Hanks was no longer a 35-year-old man. By the time he got [the script] he was almost 40 and had two Academy Awards and wanted to direct,” writer-director Cameron Crowe explained to Empire magazine in 1997. Tom Cruise later signed on.
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Wild, wild casting! The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star had the chance to play Keanu Reeves' part in the franchise. "In the pitch, I just didn't see it. I watched Keanu's performance — and very rarely do I say this — but I would have messed it up. I would have absolutely messed up The Matrix," he told Wired. "At that point I wasn't smart enough as an actor to let the movie be. Whereas Keanu was smart enough to just let it be."
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What a tease! The Sons of Anarchy hunk famously dropped out of the kinky NSFW movie in September 2013 and was replaced by Jamie Dornan. "It was a really, really difficult time in my life. I had already been attached to Crimson Peak for about 14 months, which I said I was going to do with Guillermo [del Toro]," he explained to Us Weekly in September 2015. "To fail on such a grand scale — because Fifty's going to be massive, it's going to be huge … I loved the character and I wanted to do it. I'm also a man of my word."
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No prison jumpsuit for her! The Dawson's Creek alumna almost took on Taylor Schilling's role in the hugely successful Netflix series. "I met with her," creator Jenji Kohan told E! News. "She had other things to do. And also, in the beginning, no one knew what this was."
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Sorry, Scranton! In 2006, the New York Times reported that NBC executives wanted the Billions star to play the idiotic Dunder Mifflin manager in the American reboot of the British original. Steve Carell took the gig after Giamatti turned it down.
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Had the hair for it! The Pirates of the Caribbean actor was reportedly one of the actors considered for the role, which eventually went to Matthew Broderick. Other contenders included Rob Lowe, John Cusack, Robert Downey Jr. and Michael J. Fox.
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Film exec Harvey Weinstein told Howard Stern that Hathaway dropped out of the drama that earned Jennifer Lawrence an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2013. "Silver Linings Playbook was originally going to be with Anne Hathaway and Mark Wahlberg … and then Anne wasn't doing it. And she's marvelous and wonderful and she was my choice, I love her," he said in January 2014. Turns out, everything worked out! At the same Oscars, Hathaway won in the best supporting actress category for her role in Les Misérables.
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Pitt, Russell Crowe and Sylvester Stallone were all reportedly offered the badass role before Matt Damon signed on the dotted line. Pitt and Damon previously worked together in Ocean's Eleven (2001) and Ocean's Twelve (2004).
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Bye, Jack Dawson! Paltrow almost starred in the 1997 box office smash — still one of the highest-grossing films of all time — over Kate Winslet. "I look back at the choices I've made and think, Why the hell did I say yes to that and no to that? And you know, you look at the big picture and think: There's a universal lesson here. What good is it to hold onto roles?" she told Howard Stern in January 2015. "My mother [Blythe Danner] will kill me that I'm talking about turning down movie roles. She says it's not ladylike."
Courtesy Everett Collection; David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
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