Regret is something just about everyone lives with. Missed opportunities are just a fact of life, and it can sometimes be a challenge to not dwell on them. But for some actors and actresses, it’s probably a little difficult to miss out on an opportunity to star in one of the biggest films of all time — and not because they didn’t get cast in the role – but because they did get cast in the role, but decided to turn it down.
There are plenty of reasons why an actor or actress would turn down a role. Once you reach a certain level of stardom, role offers come up all the time, and it’s simply impossible to accept them all. Hindsight is 20/20, and even the best actors (and their agents) can’t predict whether or not a film is going to be a hit. Some turn down roles because of scheduling conflicts; either they’ve already booked a film or TV show that was slated to be filming at the same time, or they had the choice between starring in two films and chose the other. They may also want to avoid typecasting, not understand the script or simply not think that the film has the potential to do well. In other instances, they just pass on it and never offer up an explanation.
It’s certainly funny to imagine an alternate universe in which, for example, High Jackman starred as James Bond instead of Daniel Craig, or Gwyneth Paltrow starred as Rose in “Titanic.” Some films might have not been as successful with different stars; some would have been classics if only the lead role had been recast. We’ll never know. One thing we do know, however, is that even though these A-list actors and actresses passed up on these roles, they didn’t suffer for it; some of them even went on to star in movies that are so important they’re studied in college.
Tom Cruise
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 03: Tom Cruise attends the Australian premiere of Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One on July 03, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
- Role: Ren McCormack
- Film: “Footloose”
Tom Cruise showed off his dancing moves in “Risky Business,” but we would have loved to see him really strut his stuff in the lead role of Ren McCormack in “Footloose.” He had to turn down the role because he had already been cast to star in “All the Right Moves,” however.
The role went to Kevin Bacon instead, becoming his breakthrough role and one of the actor’s defining roles.
Will Smith
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 27: Will Smith accepts the Actor in a Leading Role award for âKing Richardâ onstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 27, 2022 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
- Role: Neo
- Film: “The Matrix”
Will Smith received an offer for the role of Neo in “The Matrix.” On his YouTube channel, Smith explained that he turned down the role because the movie sounded confusing. He went on to make the notorious bomb “Wild Wild West” instead.
Keanu Reeves took on the role, and Neo has become one of the most iconic characters in film history.
Al Pacino
VENICE, ITALY - AUGUST 30: Al Pacino attends The Humbling premiere during the 71st Venice Film Festival on August 30, 2014 in Venice, Italy. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
- Role: Han Solo
- Film: “Star Wars”
We’re as shocked to learn about this as anyone else, but Al Pacino was actually one of the top choices to play the role of Han Solo in “Star Wars.” He told MTV that he turned down the role because he didn’t understand the script and didn’t feel like he was right for the role.
Harrison Ford took the role instead, and Han Solo became one of the greatest movie characters ever.
Harrison Ford
- Role: Alan Grant
- Film: “Jurassic Park”
Another role we would have liked to have seen Harrison Ford in? Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park.” Even though he was director Steven Spielberg’s top pick and was offered the role, Ford unfortunately turned it down.
We’re not upset about Sam Neil taking on the role in his place, though. Fun fact? Neil actually beat out actors including Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss for the role.
Johnny Depp
- Role: Ferris Bueller
- Film: “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”
Johnny Depp had to decline the lead role in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” due to scheduling conflicts.
Matthew Broderick took up the role instead, rocketing him to superstardom.
Marilyn Monroe
- Role: Holly Golightly
- Film: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
When author Truman Capote, who wrote the novella “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” sold the film rights to Paramount, he told them that he envisioned Marilyn Monroe in the leading role of Holly Golightly. Monroe turned down the role after being offered it, however, reportedly because her acting coach didn’t want the character’s party girl persona damaging her image.
The role went to Audrey Hepburn instead, and it became her defining role.
Mel Gibson
- Role: Maximus
- Film: “Gladiator”
Mel Gibson was actually offered the leading role of Maximus in “Gladiator,” but turned the role down because he felt he was too old to take it on.
It went to Russell Crowe instead, who’s nine years younger than Gibson.
Ian McKellen
- Role: Dumbledore
- Film: The Harry Potter series
We would honestly be perfectly cool with Ian McKellen playing Dumbledore. McKellen was offered the role after original Dumbledore actor Richard Harris passed away in 2002, but he passed on the role because Harris once referred to McKellen’s acting as “passionless,” and McKellen told the BBC that he couldn’t “take over the part from an actor who I’d known didn’t approve of me.”
The role went to Michael Gambon instead.
Molly Ringwald
- Role: Vivian Ward
- Film: “Pretty Woman”
Molly Ringwald revealed in a Reddit AMA that she was approached to star in the 1990 smash hit romantic comedy “Pretty Woman,” but didn’t reveal why she turned it down.
Julia Roberts took on the role instead, and the film established her as a leading actress, earning her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
Henry Winkler
- Role: Danny Zuko
- Film: “Grease”
“Happy Days” greaser Henry Winkler was an obvious choice to play Danny Zuko in “Grease,” but he told AARP Magazine that he turned down the role because he didn’t want to be typecast, which we can understand.
John Travolta
- Role: Forrest Gump
- Film: “Forrest Gump”
Can you picture anyone but Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump? It’s hard to envision, but John Travolta was actually offered the role, but turned it down in order to appear in “Pulp Fiction.”
Hanks took the role, and the rest is cinematic (and Oscar-bait) history.
Jack Nicholson
- Role: Michael Corleone
- Film: “The Godfather”
Jack Nicholson was offered the iconic role of Michael Corleone in “The Godfather,” but he reportedly turned down the role because he believed that it should be played by an Italian.
The role, of course, went to Al Pacino, cementing his Hollywood A-list status and earning him an Oscar nomination.
Emilia Clarke
- Role: Anastasia Steele
- Film: “Fifty Shades of Grey”
Emilia Clarke was offered the leading role of Anastasia Steele in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel “Fifty Shades of Grey,” but she turned down the role because of all the required nudity — not wanting to be subjected to the same treatment as when she appeared nude in “Game of Thrones.”
Dakota Johnson took her place, in what became her breakthrough role.
Brad Pitt
- Role: Jason Bourne
- Film: The Bourne Series
Brad Pitt was approached to star as Jason Bourne in “The Bourne Identity,” but he was forced to pass on the role because he’d already been cast in “Spy Game.”
The role went to Matt Damon instead, and the film series became a box-office juggernaut.
Bette Midler
- Role: Deloris Van Cartier
- Film: “Sister Act”
The leading role of Deloris Van Cartier in “Sister Act” was literally written for Bette Midler, but The Divine Miss M confessed that she turned down the role because she didn’t want to wear a nun costume, and assumed that her fans didn’t want to see her in one.
The role went to Whoopi Goldberg, and the smash hit remains a beloved film to this day.
Emma Watson
- Role: Mia Dolan
- Film: “La La Land”
Emma Watson was offered the lead role of Mia Dolan in “La La Land,” but had to turn it down because she’d already committed to starring as Belle in Disney’s live-action remake of “Beauty and the Beast.”
Emma Stone took on the role instead, earning her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Sean Connery
HOLLYWOOD - OCTOBER 01: Actor Sean Connery presents during AFIs Night At The Movies presented by Target held at ArcLight Cinemas on October 1, 2008 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for AFI)
- Role: Gandalf
- Film: The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Sean Connery was offered $10 million per film and 15% of box office earnings in order to play Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings” films, but he reportedly turned down the role because he didn’t understand the script.
The iconic role went to Ian McKellen, instead.
Gwyneth Paltrow
- Role: Rose
- Film: “Titanic”
Gwyneth Paltrow was reportedly director James Cameron’s first choice for the leading role of Rose DeWitt Bukater in the 1997 megahit “Titanic,” but she turned down the opportunity.
Emily Blunt
- Role: Black Widow
- Film: “Iron Man 2”
Emily Blunt could have had a starring role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, only if she’d accepted the offer to play Black Widow in 2010’s “Iron Man 2.” She had to turn the role down due to a scheduling conflict, however.
The role instead went to Scarlett Johansson, who’s appeared in the role in nine films to date.
Michael Keaton
- Role: Phil Connors
- Film: “Groundhog Day”
Michael Keaton received an offer to play the lead role of Phil Connors in “Groundhog Day,” but he told Entertainment Weekly that he passed it up because he didn’t want to play another “kind of wry, sardonic, glib young man.”
We’re grateful he turned it down because it ended up becoming one of Bill Murray’s most iconic roles.
Bruce Willis
- Role: Sam Wheat
- Film: “Ghost”
Bruce Willis was married to Demi Moore during the filming of the 1990 hit film “Ghost,” so it would have been a no-brainer to see them star in the film together. He was offered the leading role of newly deceased Sam Wheat but turned it down because he didn’t understand how someone dead could have a romance with someone alive.
Patrick Swayze was cast in the role instead, and it’s one of the defining roles of his career.
Burt Reynolds
- Role: James Bond
- Film: “Live and Let Die”
None other than film icon Burt Reynolds received an offer for the role of James Bond in 1973, to star in “Live and Let Die” after original Bond Sean Connery declined to return for another film. He turned it down, reportedly because he didn’t think that Bond should be played by an American.
The role went to Roger Moore instead, and he went on to star as Bond in six more films before hanging it up in 1985.
Hugh Jackman
- Role: James Bond
- Film: “Casino Royale”
Another alternate-universe James Bond? Hugh Jackman. He was offered the starring role in “Casino Royale,” but told Variety that he turned it down because “the scripts had become so unbelievable and crazy.” He was also already playing Wolverine by this point and was concerned that he would have no time for anything else between the two roles.
Daniel Craig took the role instead, and we have no complaints.
Christina Applegate
- Role: Elle Woods
- Film: “Legally Blonde”
Christina Applegate was offered the iconic role of Elle Woods in 2001’s “Legally Blonde,” but as she told “Entertainment Tonight,” she turned down the role because she “got scared of kind of repeating myself” after already spending time playing a ditzy blonde in several films and TV shows including “Married… with Children.”
The role went to Reese Witherspoon instead, and it made her into a bona fide superstar.
Tom Hanks
- Role: Jerry McGuire
- Film: “Jerry McGuire”
The role of Jerry McGuire was written for Tom Hanks, so when he turned it down because he was already booked to direct “That Thing You Do!” it nearly derailed the film.
Thankfully, Tom Cruise stepped in, and it became one of his most beloved roles.
Tom Selleck
- Role: Indiana Jones
- Film: “Raiders of the Lost Ark”
It goes without saying that “Indiana Jones” would have been a very different movie with Tom Selleck in the lead role, but we’d definitely like to see that version. He was offered the role but wasn’t able to get out of his “Magnum, P.I.” contract.
Harrison Ford took on the role instead, which became one of the most iconic in all of film history. We’ll admit, however, that it would be fun to see Selleck delivering some of the most famous “Indiana Jones” quotes.