What would Breaking Bad have looked like with Ferris Bueller at the helm? What if Pamela Anderson had starred on The X Files as Agent Scully?
Whether the actors in question regretted their decision to pass up the role of a lifetime, one thing is for certain—your favorite movies and TV shows could have been much different if these A-listers had signed on to these roles...
Emma Watson, La La Land
Originally, another Emma was lined up to play Mia in the musical spectacular La La Land. Emma Stone took home an Oscar for her performance and made it into the list of highest-paid actresses, but at one point, Emma Watson had been attached to the role.
Director Damien Chazelle revealed that Watson left the project to play Belle in Beauty in the Beast. Watson recognized that with a film like Beauty and the Beast, “...It’s like you can’t half-arse a project like this, you know, you’re in or you’re out.” Apparently, Mia wasn’t the only role that ended up being recast—Miles Teller was replaced by Ryan Gosling to play Sebastian, Mia’s love interest.
Sean Connery, Lord of the Rings
Nobody asked the question, "What if Gandalf had a Scottish accent?" Yet, Sean Connery was initially asked to join the cast of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings adaptation. Connery, who was offered $450 million for the part, turned it down for… unexpected reasons.
Apparently, Connery just couldn’t wrap his head around the premise. “I never understood it,” he said. “I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it.” In the end, Sir Ian McKellen’s interpretation of the bearded wizard earned him an Oscar nomination.
Jennifer Hudson, Precious
In Jennifer Hudson’s 2012 autobiography I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down, she revealed that she had been offered an audition for Precious, but chose to turn it down. Why? Because the actress “wanted to try a role that had nothing to do whatsoever with [her] weight.”
The film’s titular role ended up in the hands of Gabourey Sidibe, whose acting debut secured her an Oscar nomination. Hudson later backtracked on her previous statement, telling Huffington Post, “I just felt the character was doing things, at least in my script that I got, that were places I did not want to go and not where I needed to go.”
Will Smith, The Matrix
The most valuable quality one can possess as an actor is to know one’s limits, and Will Smith is no exception. Smith, who had been propositioned for the role of Neo, explained that he was confused by the way the Wachowskis pitched The Matrix to him. Smith couldn’t fathom the idea of the 360-degree camera that would eventually capture Keanu Reeves dodging bullets in slow motion.
Smith wasn’t afraid to admit that he thinks Reeves was the right guy for the part. In a 2004 interview with Wired magazine, Smith said, “I watched Keanu’s performance—and very rarely do I say this—but I would have messed it up. At that point, I wasn’t smart enough as an actor to let the movie be.”
John Travolta, Forrest Gump
Before Tom Hanks was cemented in our minds as the face of Forrest Gump, there was another contender in the running. According to BBC and Forbes, Travolta had actually been offered the part long before Hanks. However, Travolta turned down the part to star in Pulp Fiction, instead.
Funnily enough, Travolta and Hanks went head-to-head at the 1995 Academy Awards, competing not only for Best Picture but also for Best Actor. Hanks and Forrest Gump won both titles over Travolta, who later admitted that he regretted not taking on Hanks’ role.
Tom Cruise, Edward Scissorhands
Believe it or not, Johnny Depp wasn’t always the top choice for Edward Scissorhands. “20th Century Fox was interested in me for the part, but they had someone else in mind, too,” Depp said in an interview. “A few days later, they called me to say that the studio preferred the other actor.” In this case, “the other actor” was Tom Cruise.
Cruise could have gone on to become the titular character, except for one thing: he wouldn’t stop quizzing the filmmakers about semantics. “[He] wanted to know how Edward went to the bathroom,” Caroline Thompson, the film’s screenwriter, told Dazed. “He was asking the kind of questions about the character that can’t be asked for this character!” Allegedly, Cruise refused to be part of the production without knowing all the details—unpleasant or otherwise—about Edward Scissorhands’ daily routine.
Michelle Pfeiffer, The Silence of the Lambs
In 2015, years after the release of The Silence of the Lambs, director Jonathan Demme admitted that Jodie Foster was far from his first choice to play Clarice Starling. He approached a number of other actors for the role, including Michelle Pfeiffer, but Pfeiffer was troubled by the violent nature of the film and turned down his offer.
Foster was relentless in her pursuit of the role, and producers managed to convince Demme that she was the right fit. Fortunately, Foster blew them all away—not only did she win an Oscar for Best Actress, but Demme was so enamored with her performance that he named his production company Strong Heart Productions “after Jodie’s sense of character.”
Anne Hathaway, Knocked Up
Although Anne Hathaway was initially cast as Alison Scott in the 2007 Judd Apatow rom-com, the film’s explicit birth scene drove her to give up the part. Apatow wrote to The New York Times saying, “Hathaway dropped out of the film because she didn’t want to allow us to use real footage of a woman giving birth to create the illusion that she is giving birth.”
Hathaway confirmed Apatow’s statement, noting that her issue with Knocked Up was indeed a result of her own relation to motherhood, having not experienced it firsthand. “I didn’t know how I was going to feel on the other side about giving birth,” Hathaway told Allure. The character was given to Katherine Heigl, who later landed herself in hot water after revealing to Vanity Fair that she thought the movie was “a little sexist.”
Hugh Jackman, Casino Royale
The Bond franchise is always the site of major speculation, and for good reason—nobody can predict what might happen when the reins are handed over to a new 007. When it came time for Pierce Brosnan to pass the torch, Hugh Jackman was the main contender, but he wasn’t sure if he could get on board with Casino Royale.
“I just felt at the time that the scripts had become so unbelievable and crazy, and I felt like they needed to become grittier and real,” Jackman told Variety. “And the response was: ‘Oh, you don’t get a say. You just have to sign on.’” Jackman was also concerned that between Bond and X-Men, he wouldn’t have time to pursue other interests.
Charlie Hunnam, Fifty Shades of Grey
Scheduling conflicts between Sons of Anarchy and Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak caused Charlie Hunnam to pull out of Fifty Shades of Grey. When Hunnam called Sam Taylor-Johnson to break the news, both of the men were distraught.
“We both cried our eyes out on the phone for 20 minutes,” Hunnam told VMan. “There was a lot of personal stuff going on in my life that left me on real emotional, shaky ground and mentally weak. I just got myself so overwhelmed, and I was sort of having panic attacks about the whole thing.”
Albert Brooks, When Harry Met Sally
When it comes to saying “no thanks,” Albert Brooks is a seasoned expert. He turned down the 1980s hits Big and Pretty Woman, both of which earned Golden Globes. In 1989, he also passed on playing the character of Harry Burns in the beloved rom-com When Harry Met Sally. Brooks said it reminded him of Woody Allen, from whom he wanted to maintain his distance.
“It read to me like a Woody Allen movie, verbatim,” he said. “And I thought that was not something I should be in.” Despite Brooks’ decision, When Harry Met Sally went on to be considered of the greatest romantic comedies of all time.
Julia Roberts, Shakespeare in Love
Gwyneth Paltrow shot to stardom through the role of Viola De Lesseps in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love. Although Paltrow’s performance earned her an Oscar, she wasn’t the first choice for Shakespeare in Love—Julia Roberts pulled out of the production only six weeks prior to filming.
According to cast member Simon Callow in 2014, Roberts withdrew after finding out Daniel Day-Lewis had turned down the part of William Shakespeare. However, Paltrow ended up starring opposite Joseph Fiennes, which proved to be the best possible combination. The film won a total of seven Oscars, including best picture.
Christina Applegate, Legally Blonde
Before Reese Witherspoon gave her iconic performance as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, Christina Applegate was among the handful of actresses that were considered for the part. Applegate, concerned about being pigeonholed as an airhead blonde, passed on the role—especially since she had just played a similar one in Married with Children.
Later, Applegate joked that turning down the role was perhaps not her brightest moment since it ended up earning Witherspoon a Golden Globe nomination. On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she said, “I don’t regret it because Reese Witherspoon did a much better job than I ever could... and she has now way more money than I do and way more success. And so why would I even regret that?”
Jack Nicholson, The Godfather
Jack Nicholson was one of many big names to say “no” to the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, including Robert De Niro, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, and Martin Sheen. Nicholson said he thought the role should be played by an Italian actor.
Back in 2004, Nicholson told Movieline, “Back then I believed Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians. 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.”
John Lithgow, Batman
Although Nicholson didn’t take on Michael Corleone, he has John Lithgow to thank for his role as The Joker in Tim Burton’s Batman. Lithgow was actually set to play the nemesis not once, but twice—first in a Joe Dante film that never made it to the big screen, and again in the 1989 box office smash hit.
“My worst audition was for Tim Burton for Batman,” Lithgow recalled during at 2017 interview. “I tried to persuade him I was not right for the part, and I succeeded.”
Matt Damon, Avatar
Damon has often joked that he “bailed on” Avatar, but he only rejected the role of Jake Sully because of scheduling conflicts. Apparently, Marky Mark never wanted to decline the offer. The role eventually ended up in the hands of Sam Worthington.
“It wasn’t anything against Avatar. I really wanted to do Avatar and watch Jim Cameron direct,” Damon said during a press conference. “I felt like I really was gonna learn a lot. It’s just that we were finishing The Bourne Ultimatum and couldn’t leave.”
Angela Bassett, Monster’s Ball
Halle Berry became the first black woman to win an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance as Leticia Musgrove in Monster’s Ball. However, history might have been different if Angela Bassett had chosen to pursue the role.
“It’s about character, darling,” Bassett told Newsweek. The actress told the outlet that she didn’t want to play a sex worker on camera because “it’s such a stereotype about black women and sexuality.”
Warren Beatty, Kill Bill
The first draft of Kill Bill was actually a version featuring Warren Beatty, but it didn’t last for long. Beatty was concerned about how long he’d have to spend shooting the project in China, ultimately choosing to withdraw himself. Enter: David Carradine.
Quentin Tarantino had no hard feelings about Beatty’s decision, saying that he “was a little worried that Warren Beatty might look faintly ridiculous in this.”
Matt Damon, Brokeback Mountain
While it might feel a little blasphemous to think of Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain starring anyone but Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, when the project was still being spearheaded by Gus Van Sant, he approached a number of A-listers for the lead roles—including Matt Damon.
“Nobody wanted to do it,” Van Sant told IndieWire, after receiving a chorus of rejections. Damon, who had worked with Van Sant on Good Will Hunting, reportedly told the director: “Gus, I did a gay movie (The Talented Mr. Ripley), then a cowboy movie (All the Pretty Horses). I can't follow it up with a gay-cowboy movie!”
Nicholas Cage, The Wrestler
When director Darren Aronofsky was casting Randy “The Ram” Robinson in 2008’s The Wrestler, he initially had his eye on Mickey Rourke. However, the film’s backers expressed doubts, and the role was offered to Nicolas Cage in lieu of Rourke. Cage didn’t last for long. Soon after he accepted, he had second thoughts and took it upon himself to back out. “I resigned from the movie because I didn’t think I had enough time to achieve the look of the wrestler who was on steroids, which I would never do,” he said in a 2009 interview.
Fortunately, Aronofsky was able to pin down Rourke for the role. The actor ended up receiving an Oscar, BAFTA, and Golden Globe nominations for his performance.
Reese Witherspoon, Scream
In 1996, Wes Craven’s slasher film Scream was only in its beginning stages—nobody could have predicted the upcoming franchise’s success. Drew Barrymore was attached to the lead role of Sidney Prescott, but the actress later decided that she wanted to play Casey Becker, who is famously murdered in the film’s opening.
Witherspoon was propositioned for the role, but she turned it down, making room for Neve Campbell to star as Prescott in all five installments of the Scream series.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Titanic
Gwyneth Paltrow’s decision to turn down the legendary role of Rose Dewitt Bukater in Titanic has been widely debated, but Paltrow never came forward with the reasons behind her decision.
In 2015, she told Howard Stern, “My mother will kill me that I’m talking about turning down movie roles. It’s not ladylike.”
Al Pacino, Star Wars
Similar to Sean Connery’s own issues with The Lord of the Rings, Al Pacino struggled to understand the script for Star Wars, which prevented him from taking on the role of Han Solo. He later described the decision as a “missed opportunity.”
Pacino, who had turned down a number of other successful roles—such as Ted Kramer in Kramer vs. Kramer and Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman—said of his past, “There is a museum of mistakes, all the movies I rejected.”
Mel Gibson, Gladiator
Long ago, before Mel Gibson’s skills as an actor hadn’t yet been marred by blatant antisemitism, he was offered the role of Roman gladiator Maximus in Ridley Scott’s blockbuster epic Gladiator.
Gibson reportedly rejected the role because he felt he was too old to play the role, but he was only 43 years old at the time. Russell Crowe took the part in his stead, earning himself an Oscar for Best Actor.
Tom Hanks, Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire was actually written with Tom Hanks in mind for the titular role, but the actor turned down Cameron Crowe for a part in the 1996 sports drama because he was directing his own film, That Thing You Do. Later, Hanks commented that Tom Cruise was the perfect choice for the lead.
“I think you look at it now and it couldn’t be anybody other than Tom Cruise,” Hanks told Access Hollywood. “It’s the way the movie’s operated. I don’t think anybody would look at that now and say, ‘That movie was not perfect.’”
Sir Ian McKellen, Harry Potter
After Richard Harris passed away, Sir Ian McKellen was offered the role of headmaster Albus Dumbeldore, but he personally thought that playing one giant, bearded wizard was enough.
McKellen continued, “There was a question as to whether I might take over from Richard Harris but seeing as one of the last things he did publicly was say what a dreadful actor he thought I was, it would not have been appropriate for me to take over his part. It would have been unfair.”
Tom Selleck, Indiana Jones
Once director Steven Spielberg saw Harrison Ford perform in Star Wars, he instantly wanted to cast him as Indiana Jones, but George Lucas didn’t want Ford in another one of his projects. Lucas served as the executive producer for Raiders of the Lost Ark.
At first, Tom Selleck was selected to play Indiana Jones, but he was forced to drop the project due to contractual obligations for Magnum, P.I. Eventually, Lucas gave in, and Ford was officially cast in place of Selleck, portraying the iconic role throughout the entirety of the franchise.
Emily Blunt, Iron Man 2
Before Scarlett Johansson took over the role, Emily Blunt was the first choice for Black Widow in Iron Man 2. Blunt supposedly backed out because of timing, but Deadline reported that the actress left the project due to a low paycheck.
“I’m never regretful about not doing something; I didn’t do it at the time because it wasn’t the right time and I was contracted to do something else,” Blunt told Screen Rants. “But Scarlett [Johansson] has done such a phenomenal job—she’s it! Like why even reminisce about what could've been? She’s it and she nailed it, and I love The Avengers, I really found it to be really good fun.”
Leonardo DiCaprio, Boogie Nights
After Paul Thomas Anderson saw Leonardo DiCaprio in The Basketball Diaries, he wanted the actor to star in Boogie Nights. Unfortunately, Leo had already bound himself to Titanic, but he knew the perfect person for the role—his Basketball Diaries co-star Mark Wahlberg.
“Boogie Nights is a movie I loved and I wish I would’ve done,” he told GQ in 2008. DiCaprio also admitted that the role could have changed his career: “I’m not saying I would have. But it would have been a different direction, career-wise. I think they’re both great and I wish I could have done them both.”
Thomas Jane, Mad Men
Jon Hamm’s formidable performance as Don Draper in Mad Men established him as one of the most talented actors in Hollywood, but another man almost played the part. Thomas Jane passed on the role. At the time, AMC was known for airing reruns of old movies rather than prestige television, and he figured accepting the gig might be a death sentence for his career.
Jane went on to star in HBO’s Hung as the main character, but the show ended up getting canceled after only two seasons. Sometimes, taking risks as an actor can pay off.
Bette Midler, Sister Act
Musical theater veteran and iconic actress Bette Midler would have been an incredible choice for the role that ended up in the hands of Whoopi Goldberg, who obviously did it more than justice. Still, Bette declined the part of Sister Mary Clarence, a Vegas showgirl hiding out in a convent—she was worried about her fans’ reaction to the idea of her playing a nun.
Midler admitted the career choice was not her finest moment: “There was Sister Act, which was written for me, but I said: ‘My fans don't want to see me in a wimple.’ I also didn't do Misery and Kathy Bates won an Oscar for it.”
Lindsay Lohan, The Hangover
In 2009, Lindsay Lohan passed on the role of the stripper in The Hangover, which eventually went to Heather Graham. Lohan, who was only 20 at the time, felt she was too young for the role. Graham was 37.
“People love to attack her for everything, like: ‘Ha she didn’t see how great The Hangover was going to be. She turned it down,’” director Todd Phillips told THR. “She didn’t turn it down. She loved the script, actually. It really was an age thing.”
Sandra Bernhard, Sex and the City
Sara Bernhard had no qualms about passing on the role of cynical lawyer Miranda Hobbes in Sex and the City. The outspoken comedian and actress told Howard Stern that the script was “terrible” and the pay was equally pitiful.
Bernhard also was apprehensive about working with Sarah Jessica Parker. “[I would have had] to play third or fourth fiddle to [Parker] and put up with her s***. It would have been hideous to work with her.” Fortunately, Cynthia Nixon flawlessly executed Miranda’s role in Bernhard’s stead.
Matthew Broderick, Breaking Bad
It’s a little-known fact that Matthew Broderick was offered the role of Walter White, the terminally ill chemistry teacher who transformed into a meth kingpin over the course of AMC’s Breaking Bad. Apparently, John Cusack is rumored to have declined the role but denied that myth on Twitter: “Didn’t turn it down. U crazy.”
Broderick and Cusack were confirmed to have been on the list of possible actors, but Cusack was reportedly never offered the role. Both Cusack and Broderick received the script under the impression that if they liked the part, it belonged to them.
Tom Cruise, Footloose
After the producers of Footloose caught wind of Tom Cruise’s pantless dance sequence in Risky Business, they wanted to pin him down for the part of Ren McCormack. However, Cruise passed on the role in favor of All the Right Moves, which made less than a quarter of what Footloose earned at the box office.
The part of Ren ended up going to Kevin Bacon. Rob Lowe had auditioned for it three times, but he was forced to give it up after sustaining an injury.
Pamela Anderson, The X Files
Yes, you read that correctly. Before Gillian Anderson became a household name as the fierce redhead Special Agent Dana Scully, producers on The X Files were eyeing Pamela Anderson for the role.
“Pamela was somebody who was more familiar to them in terms of what was on TV at the time,” said Anderson. "They were looking for someone bustier, taller, leggier than me."
Paul Giamatti, The Office
Would you believe that the iconic role of Michael Scott was very nearly played by someone other than Steve Carell? At the time of casting, Paul Giamatti was riding the high of 2004 buddy comedy-drama Sideways, making him first choice for the lead.
Giamatti turned down the part because, as noted by Splitsider, his characters tended to be more complex and cerebral than Carell’s at the time. Luckily, Carell played the character to perfection, elevating the show to its legendary status.
Leonardo DiCaprio, American Psycho
A number of top-tier actors were signed on to play the role of Patrick Bateman, including Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Ewan McGregor, and Ed Norton. Surprisingly, before Christian Bale brought the yuppie murderer to life, Leonardo DiCaprio was actually announced as the lead by Lions Gate Films.
DiCaprio ultimately succumbed to the pressure against him; his representatives were concerned that the fanbase he had garnered from Titanic wouldn’t want to see him performing such a violent role.
Ray Liotta, The Sopranos
After making a career out of wiseguy mobster characters, it’s no surprise that Ray Liotta was recruited for the role of Tony Soprano, the emotionally-conflicted mob boss on HBO’s hit show The Sopranos.
Liotta turned down the offer in order to focus on his film career and the character fell into the hands of the late James Gandolfini, whose depiction of Tony Soprano brought The Sopranos to never-before-seen heights of success.
Cher, The Addams Family
Angelica Huston ended up playing Morticia Addams in the film adaptation of The Addams Family, but the role was rejected by its initial contender: Cher. Cher was also considered for the part of the Grand High Witch in 1989’s The Witches, but that role also went to Huston.
Morticia wasn’t the only role Cher turned down—she also said “no” to Thelma in Thelma and Louise, and Barbara Rose in War of the Roses, which went to Geena Davis and Kathleen Turner, respectively.
Kevin Costner, The Shawshank Redemption
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Kevin Costner was the biggest name in Hollywood. As a result, Costner was offered the leading role in The Shawshank Redemption, but Costner didn’t bite.
The actor declined the part in order to work on a passion project that went on to become a tremendous flop by comparison: 1995’s Waterworld. Instead, the role of Andy Dufresne was given to Tim Robbins.
Jim Carrey, Elf
When Jim Carrey first read the script for family-friendly holiday classic Elf, he was supposedly on board to play Buddy the Elf. However, it wasn’t until over a decade later that the film actually went into production—by that time, the actor had already starred as the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Carrey declined the opportunity to star in yet another blockbuster Christmas flick, and the role went to Will Ferrell, who made the movie a staple of the holiday season.
Michael B. Jordan, Straight Outta Compton
Dr. Dre personally expressed his wishes Michael B. Jordan to portray him in the musical biopic Straight Outta Compton. Unfortunately, the film presented scheduling conflicts with Fantastic Four, in which Jordan played the Human Torch.
In the end, Fantastic Four flopped at the box office, grossing only $56 million, while Straight Outta Compton went on to earn over $161 million.
Marilyn Monroe, Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Truman Capote, author of the novella Breakfast at Tiffany’s, made it clear that he wished to have Marilyn Monroe play Holly Golightly in the film adaptation of his book. However, Monroe turned down the part, citing concerns that it would affect her public image.
Capote is rumored to have expressed his distaste for Audrey Hepburn’s portrayal of the character.
Henry Winkler, Grease
After making a name for himself as Fonzie on Happy Days, Henry Winkler was offered the part of Danny Zuko in Grease. Winkler turned it down, stating that he “didn’t want to be typecast” as that sort of character. Later, Winkler hinted that he should have perhaps considered the role more seriously.
“It’s not now that I’m like, ‘Oh, I should’ve done the role,’” Winkler told AARP magazine in 2017. “It’s that I turned it down intellectually instead of instinctually. Listen to your gut—it knows everything.”
Matthew McConaughey, Titanic
It turns out that Matthew McConaughey almost starred alongside Kate Winslet in Titanic instead of Leonardo DiCaprio. In fact, McConaughey thought he was a shoe-in for the part.
“I auditioned with Kate Winslet,” he said. “[I] had a good audition, [and] walked away from there pretty confident that I had it. I didn’t get it. I never got offered that.”
Bruce Willis, Ghost
Bruce Willis was married to Demi Moore during the filming of Ghost, and received an offer to star as the lead alongside her instead of Patrick Swayze. In 1996, He told The New York Times that he was a “knucklehead” for rejecting the part.
“I just didn’t get it,” Willis said. “I said, ‘Hey, the guy’s dead. How are you gonna have a romance?’ Famous last words.”
Liam Neeson, Lincoln
Ten years before Lincoln was put into motion, producers Liam Neeson approached for the lead. However, after a table read, Neeson flipped—mostly due to residual grief from the death of his wife Natasha Richardson one month prior.
In 2014, Neeson told GQ, “I thought, ‘I’m not supposed to be here...I don’t want to play this Lincoln. I can’t be him. So the next two and a half, three hours of reading through it... This extraordinary piece of writing, but it had no connection with me whatsoever. It was a very strange feeling, and it was partly grief.”
Johnny Depp, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
In the 1980s, Hollywood up-and-comer Johnny Depp was one of the actors considered for the titular character in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Depp ended up turning down the role as the result of a scheduling conflict, which made room for Matthew Broderick to perform in the legendary John Hughes flick.
Robin Williams, The Shining
Robin Williams was close to being cast as Jack Torrance in The Shining, but director Stanley Kubrick said Williams was “too psychotic” for the part. The role went to Jack Nicholson, who delivered the iconic line that would cement itself in cinema history forever: “Here’s Johnny!”
Burt Reynolds, Live and Let Die
In 1973, Burt Reynolds turned down the chance to become the next Bond in Live and Let Die. Decades later in 2015, Reynolds told USA Today that he declined the part because he didn’t think the public would be able to accept an American 007.
Matt Damon, Harvey Dent
When Matt Damon was approached to play the role of Harvey Dent, A.K.A. Two-Face in The Dark Knight, he declined. The issue boiled down to a scheduling conflict. When asked about his reason behind the decision, Damon said, “Look, Aaron is a great actor, so the movie didn’t suffer for it. Every now and then you get one and you can’t do it.”