The life of your favorite Hollywood actor is a bit more complex than it appears to be on screen. They too have tight schedules, outside jobs, and other obligations aside from acting for your viewing pleasure. Take a look at these A-listers who turned down the role of a lifetime...
John Lithgow, Batman
Fortunately for Nicholson, another dropout got him one of his most notable roles. John Lithgow was originally supposed to play the Joker in Tim Burton's Batman. Lithgow actually dropped out of playing the Joker on more than one occasion.
Evidently, Lithgow knew he wasn't right for the role since the beginning. “My worst audition was for Tim Burton for Batman,” Lithgow stated in a 2017 interview. “I tried to persuade him I was not right for the part, and I succeeded.”
Tom Cruise, Edward Scissorhands
Despite his bizarre nature and propensity to play "over-the-top" characters, Johnny Depp wasn't the first person that was asked to play Edward Scissorhands. Tom Cruise was part of the conversation as well. In fact, 20th Century Fox was so interested in casting Tom Cruise that they denied Johnny Depp the audition.
Cruise ultimately pulled out of the film. He was spending too much time worrying about the semantics of the wildly surreal character that was Edward Scissorhands. He demanded to know how his character would use the bathroom, and he didn't quite seem to grasp the absurdity of the direction of the film. Cruise and 20th Century Fox mutually dropped each other, and Johnny Depp was asked to step up to the plate.
Sean Connery, Lord of the Rings
Sean Connery was originally supposed to play the roaming, mysterious wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings. Connery even got offered $450 million to play the role. However, he turned it down. What gives?
Connery didn't think he had what it took to play Gandalf. “I never understood it,” he stated. “I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it.” Sir Ian McKellen's interpretation of Gandalf won him an Oscar nomination, so maybe he "got it."
Anne Hathaway, Knocked Up
Hathaway initially accepted the role of Alison Scott in the 2007 Seth Rogan and Judd Apatow rom-com. She pulled out because she was uneasy about the filmmakers using real footage of a woman giving birth to create the illusion that she was giving birth.
Hathaway confirmed that rumor after Knocked Up was released, stating that she didn't feel comfortable being part of the move because she hadn't experienced motherhood firsthand. “I didn’t know how I was going to feel on the other side about giving birth,” said Hathaway when she was interviewed by Allure. After Hathaway pulled out, Katherine Heigl hopped in her place. Heigl later went on the record with Vanity Fair stating that the movie was "a little sexist."
Jennifer Hudson, Precious
In Jennifer Hudson’s 2012 autobiography I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down, she wrote that she had been offered the lead in Precious. She turned the role down, but why? Jennifer Hudson “wanted to try a role that had nothing to do whatsoever with [her] weight.”
The role of the protagonist ended up being played by Gabourey Sidibe. This was her first major role ever, and she received an Oscar nomination for it. Hudson ended up interviewing with the Huffington Post after Precious was released. She stated: “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
It has been said that an actor who does not know their own limits is an actor that shouldn't be hired. Will Smith knows this better than most. When Smith was offered the role of Neo, he was confused by how the movie was pitched to him. He didn't quite know how to act with a 360° camera.
Will Smith actually admitted that Keanu Reeves was the better pick for the lead role in the legendary cyber noir. In an interview with Wired magazine, Smith stated: “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
It's difficult to unsee Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump. But, as it turns out, Hanks wasn't even the first consideration for the role. Strangely enough, John Travolta turned down the role of Forrest Gump to be in Quinten Tarintino's Pulp Fiction.
Travolta then went head to head with Hanks at the 1995 Academy Awards. Hanks walked away with both titles that Travolta was nominated for. Travolta regrets not playing Forrest Gump, despite being a part of one of the most legendary movies of all time, Pulp Fiction.
Michelle Pfeiffer, The Silence of the Lambs
Twenty four years after Silence of the Lambs was released, director Jonathan Demme released a statement admitting that Jodie Foster wasn't who he originally wanted to play Clarice Starling. He spoke to many actors about assuming the role, and he particularly wanted Michelle Pfeiffer to be a part of it. But, Pfeiffer wasn't into the violent nature of the movie.
Jodie Foster wanted this role more than anyone else. She was relentless while pursuing the opportunity, and she eventually convinced Demme that she was the right person to play Clarice. She won an Oscar for Best Actress because of this role, and she even inspired Demme to rename his production company Strong Heart Productions to commemorate her strong-willed nature.
Emma Watson, La La Land
Believe it or not, a different Emma was originally supposed to play Mia in La La Land. Emma Stone received an Oscar for her performance, and her involvement in this movie got her on the list of highest-paid actresses of the year. But, before all of that, Emma Watson was intended to play the role.
According to La La Land director, Damien Chazelle, Watson left the project to play Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Watson later stated that the role in Beauty and the Beast seemed like it would have reached a larger audience and had a bigger impact on society. Boy, was she wrong.
Matt Damon, Avatar
Damon likes to make the joke that he "bailed on" the production of Avatar. In reality, he only denied the role of Jake Skully because he had a busy conflicting schedule. Damon didn't even want to decline the role, in fact, he was excited about it.
So, the role ended up in the hands of Sam Worthington. Matt Damon went about his normal regularly scheduled tasks, and then suddenly Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all time in one summer. Unfortunately for Damon, he used that time to finish the Bourne Ultimatum, which flopped HARD.
Charlie Hunnam, Fifty Shades of Grey
Hunnam would have been in Fifty Shades of Grey if it weren't for his insane schedule. Between shooting Sons of Anarchy, and Crimson Peak, Hunnam got overwhelmed by his workload and decided to pull out of one of his projects. That project ended up being Fifty Shades of Grey.
“We both cried our eyes out on the phone for 20 minutes,” Hunnam said in an interview with 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 f***ing overwhelmed, and I was sort of having panic attacks about the whole thing.” It's a good thing he didn't follow through.
Albert Brooks, When Harry Met Sally
Albert Brooks had his fair share of denied roles. In 1980 he turned down leading Big and Pretty Woman, both of which performed unbelievably well. He passed playing Harry in When Harry Met Sally in 1989 as well. Brooks said that the movie reminded him of Woody Allen, from whom he was trying to maintain his distance.
“It read to me like a Woody Allen movie, verbatim,” he stated. “And I thought that was not something I should be in.” How Harry Met Sally became a legendary hit without Albert Brooks' help. Although, it's probably important to recognize that complaints had been getting filed against Woody Allen back in the '80s.
Hugh Jackman, Casino Royale
Everyone in Hollywood has dreams of playing James Bond. Well, everyone but Hugh Jackman. Jackman was the main contender to take over the bond series when Pierce Brosnan's time had ended. But, Jackman just didn't get down with the script of Casino Royale.
Jackman aired his concerns about Bond scrips, stating: “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,” in an interview with Variety. Evidently, the director's response was "Oh, you don’t get a say. You just have to sign on." This didn't sit well with Jackman, so he stuck to what he knew best, X-Men.
Jack Nicholson, The Godfather
Regrettably, Jack Nicholson was one of the foolish individuals that turned down the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather. Additionally, Robert De Niro, Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, and Martin Sheen all turned the role down. Jack's reasoning? He believed that the role should be played by an Italian actor.
In 2014, Jack Nicholson bore it all while interviewing with Movieline. He stated: “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.”
Al Pacino, Star Wars
Al Pachino and Sean Connery shared some similarities in their careers. Connery turned down playing Gandalf, and Pachino turned down playing Han Solo in Star Wars. Later on in his career, Pachino admitted that he missed a huge opportunity by turning down playing everyone's favorite space bandit.
Pachino ended up turning down a ton of important roles in his career. He turned down playing Ted Kramer in Kramer vs. Kramer, and he turned down playing Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman as well. He regrettably stated that “there is a museum of mistakes, all the movies I rejected,” when asked about his questionable career decisions.
Julia Roberts, Shakespeare in Love
Gwyneth Paltrow became the star she is today through the role of Viola De Lesseps in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love. Although Paltrow’s performance earned her an Oscar, Julia Roberts was actually the first one who was intended to play the role of De Lesseps. Roberts pulled out of the role just six weeks before the movie started getting filmed.
According to a cast member named Simon Callow's confession in 2014, Roberts pulled out because Daniel Day-Lewis turned down his prospective role as Shakespeare. Paltrow ended up starring with Joseph Fiennes, who she had a history of working with. This combination of powers proved to be massively successful, netting the film seven Oscars, including Best Picture.
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. Hanks believes that all in all, even though he was the intended actor for the film, Tom Cruise was the perfect choice for the role.
“I think you look at it now and it couldn’t be anybody other than Tom Cruise,” Stated Hanks in an interview with 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.’”
Warren Beatty, Kill Bill
David Carradine ended up stealing the show with his portrayal of Bill in Kill Bill. But, he wasn't actually supposed to assume the role. Warren Beatty was supposed to assume the position, but his schedule prevented him from shooting the movie in China.
Quentin Tarantino actually believes that Beatty made the right decision by backing out. He stated after the movie was released that he “was a little worried that Warren Beatty might look faintly ridiculous in this.”
Matt Damon, Brokeback Mountain
While it might be difficult to imagine a world where Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain stars anyone but Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, when the project was in its beginning stages, Gus Van Sant approached a multitude of different actors. One of them was Matt Damon.
“Nobody wanted to do it,” Van Sant reported to IndieWire after receiving overwhelming "no's" from the individuals he asked. Damon, who had worked with Van Sant on Good Will Hunting, told the director flat out: “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!”
Christina Applegate, Legally Blonde
Reese Witherspoon played the role of her career in Legally Blonde. But, originally Christina Applegate was originally asked to play Elle Woods. Applegate didn't want to get pigeonholed as an airhead blonde, so she decided to pass on the role.
Although she doesn't feel too beat up about it, Applegate joked in an interview that she probably shouldn't have turned down the role. Witherspoon cleaned up a Golden Globe nomination for her acting. Applegate released this statement in an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen: “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?”
Nicholas Cage, The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky was looking to cast someone to play Randy "The Ram" Robinson in the 2008 movie: The Wrestler. He wanted Mickey Rourke from the get-go, but that didn't pan out. So, he set his sights on Nic Cage.
Nic Cage, who is not one to turn down a role, had a sudden change of heart right before the shooting was supposed to begin. “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 when he was interviewed about the situation in 2009.
Angela Bassett, Monster’s Ball
Halle Berry won an Oscar for Best Actress for her work in Monster's Ball. In fact, this made her the first black woman to ever win the Oscar for Best Actress. That being said, things might have been a lot different if Angela Bassett decided to pursue the role when she originally got cast to play Leticia Musgrove.
“It’s about character, darling,” Bassett told Newsweek in an interview after the movie was released. Bassett revealed that she didn't want to play a sex worker in a movie because “it’s such a stereotype about black women and sexuality.”
Sir Ian McKellen, Harry Potter
When Rochard Harris died, Sir Ian McKellen was approached about playing Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter. However, he had previously decided that he had played enough wizards throughout his career. “People say to me, ‘Don’t you wish you’d played Dumbledore?” he said. “I say no! I played Gandolf! The original.”
McKellen confessed later on: “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.”
Mel Gibson, Gladiator
Although Mel Gibson's best-known role currently is "the guy who revealed that he's a raging anti-semite and got laughed out of Hollywood," he definitely missed a big opportunity in the early stages of his career.
Gibson said that he rejected the role of Maximus in Ridley Scott's Gladiator simply because he felt that he was too old to play the role. He was only 43, by the way. Russell Crowe got offered the part instead, and he left a much more important mark on history than Mel Gibson ever could.
Sandra Bernhard, Sex and the City
Sara Bernhard does not regret passing up the role of Miranda Hobbes in Sex and the City. In an interview with Howard Stern, Hobbes relayed that the script was "terrible" and the pay was just as bad.
Bernhard also had her reservations 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.”
Tom Selleck, Indiana Jones
Because of Harrison Ford's outstanding performance in Star Wars, Steven Spielberg wanted to hire him to be Indiana Jones. However, George Lucas wasn't too fond of that idea. Since Ford had already played a major character in a different Lucas film, he wanted some fresh blood on the screen.
So, he wanted to pick Tom Selleck instead. But, he was actually forced to drop the project because he was contractually bound to continue working on Magnum, P.I. With his dreams of working with Tom Selleck crushed, Lucas gave in and re-hired Harrison Ford to play the beloved Indiana Jones.
Pamela Anderson, The X Files
Oh yeah, it's true. Before Gillian Anderson took the reigns as Special Agent Dana Scully, the producers behind The X Files were considering Pamela Anderson for the position.
"Pamela was somebody who was more familiar to them in terms of what was on TV at the time,” stated Anderson in an interview, "They were looking for someone bustier, taller, leggier than me."
Reese Witherspoon, Scream
In 1996, Wes Craven’s slasher film Scream was merely just an idea, but that idea had legs. Drew Barrymore discovered the project early, and she got attached to the lead role of Sidney Prescott. But, the actress later decided that she wanted to play Casey Becker, who gets picked off right when the movie opens.
The reason that Witherspoon turned the role down was to offer space to a newcomer that she really believed in. She tossed the role to Neve Campbell, who ended up starring as Prescott in all five installments of the Scream movie series.
Emily Blunt, Iron Man 2
Scarlett Johansson took the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2 in a heartbeat. But, Emily Blunt was actually the first person that Marvel approached about regarding the project. Blunt turned the project down, claiming that the paycheck was too low for her time.
Blunt doesn't regret letting Scarlett Johansson take the role of Black Widow. She's even into working with Marvel in the future on different projects that might need another superheroine.
“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 reported to Screen Rants after Iron Man 2 was released. “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
DiCaprio was a hot (and we mean HOT) commodity early on in his career. After Paul Thomas Anderson spied DiCaprio acting in The Basketball Diaries, he knew that he needed to ask him to star in Boogie Nights. Unfortunately, DiCaprio had already signed the contract to play Jack in Titanic, but he did offer a potential solution to Anderson...
DiCaprio suggested that his good friend Mark Wahlberg would be perfect for the role, and history agrees. “Boogie Nights is a movie I loved and I wish I would’ve done,” Said DiCaprio in 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.”
Lindsay Lohan, The Hangover
Lindsay Lohan was originally offered the role of "the stripper" in The Hangover, but she chose to pass that offer onto Heather Graham. Lohan was 20 at the time of the film's production stage, and she thought that she was much too young to be playing the role she was offered.
“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,’” stated director Todd Phillips in an interview with THR. “She didn’t turn it down. She loved the script, actually. It really was an age thing.”
Thomas Jane, Mad Men
Jon Hammis best know for his position as Don Draper in Mad Men. This show established him as a Hollywood elite, but it could have done that for Thomas Jane too. Jane passed on the role because of his preconceived notion that AMC would play old movies instead of presenting Mad Men at an appropriate time of the day.
Hamm snagged the role, and Jane ended up moving on to be a part of HBO's Hung. However, that show only lasted two seasons, and Jane got fired when the show finished. This just goes to show, you shouldn't judge a TV show's success by its channel platform (all of the time).
Bette Midler, Sister Act
Bette Midler has a history of being iconic in musical theater and is an overwhelmingly cool actress. But, she decided to give up her role in Sister Act to Whoopi Goldberg, who ended up doing a legendary job. However, Bette didn't give up the role because she thought Whoopi would have done a better job, she gave it up because she feared her fan's reactions to her playing a nun.
Later on in her career, Bette spoke on how that might have not been the best decision for her: “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.”
Matthew Broderick, Breaking Bad
Believe it or not, Matthew Broderick was extremely close of taking the role of Walter White from Bryan Cranston. According to conspiracy theorists, John Cusack was also offered the role and he declined, but he later denied that idea on Twitter, stating: “Didn’t turn it down. U crazy.”
When the records of the beginning planning stages of Breaking Bad were released following the show's conclusion, Broderick and Cusack were on the list of prospective actors, but Cusack never even got offered the position. Both Cusack and Broderick were given the script, and they felt like if they liked the characters and the script, the role would be theirs without hesitation. They were wrong.
Walking Dead casting directors Sherry Thomas and Sharon Bialy pitched Bryan Cranston the role after he auditioned for the lead of an Aaron Sorkin play, The Farnsworth Invention, which the pair were also casting.
Tom Cruise, Footloose
After Tom Cruise danced pantless in Risky Business, the producers of Footloose wanted to include him in their film no matter what. But, Cruise ended up declining the role to be in All the Right Moves, which ended up not even making 1/4 of what Footloose made in the box office.
The role of Ren ended up getting tossed at Kevin Bacon. Rob Lowe reportedly auditioned for the role three times, but he got injured after the third and had to give up on his conquest.
Cher, The Addams Family
Although Angelica Huston got most of her Hollywood cred from playing Morticia Addams in the film adaptation of The Addams Family, Cher could have very well played that role. Cher was the director's first choice, and she could have also taken the role of the Grand High Witch in 1989's The Witches, but Angelica Huston scooped that one up as well.
Cher turned down an absolute ton of roles in her career. She turned down playing Thelma in Thelma and Louise, and Barbara Rose in War of the Roses.
Gwyneth Paltrow, Titanic
Gwyneth Paltrow’s decision to turn down the legendary role of Rose Dewitt Bukater in Titanic was actually unbelievable to some critics. That, and Paltrow never came clean about the truth behind her halting 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.” Needless to say, we might never know the true reason why Paltrow decided to give up playing Rose.
Paul Giamatti, The Office
Can you imagine a world where Steve Carell isn't Michael Scott? Additionally, can you even invasion a world where Paul Giamatti gets a role as a business manager in a show? Well, since Giamatti was popping off due to the 2004 comedy-drama Sideways, he was the first person considered for the role.
Giamatti decided to turn down the role because, according to Splitsider magazine, Michael Scott lacked complexity, and Giamatti tended to like characters that were more cerebral. Thankfully, Steve Carell took the role and absolutely crushed it.
Bruce Willis, Ghost
Bruce Willis had just gotten married to Demi Moore when Ghost was being filmed. By proxy, he was offered the opportunity to take the lead role alongside her, as opposed to Patrick Swayze. He rejected the offer but went on record through The New York Times saying that he was "a knucklehead" for denying the gig.
“I just didn’t get it,” Stated Willis. “I said, ‘Hey, the guy’s dead. How are you gonna have a romance?’ Famous last words.”
Liam Neeson, Lincoln
Lincoln was in production long before anyone decided to completely fund or plan the movie's shooting. Long before Lincoln even got started, the producers approached Liam Neeson about taking the lead. However, at the table read of the script, Neeson had a breakdown that was likely related to the death of his wife, Natasha Richardson, just one month before.
In a 2014 interview with GQ, Neeson stated: “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.”
Marilyn Monroe, Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Truman Capote, the author of the novel Breakfast at Tiffany's, made herself abundantly clear when she stated that she wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holly Golightly in the film adaptation. But, Monroe decided to ultimately turn the part down, concerned that acting here would affect her public image negatively.
Truman Capote was not satisfied with Audrey Hepburn's portrayal of her character.
Leonardo DiCaprio, American Psycho
There were numerous a-listers that were considered while the character Patrick Bateman was getting cast. Some of those individuals include Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Ewan McGregor, and Edward Norton. Before Christian Bale was selected as the best fit for the role, Lionsgate actually announced that Leonardo DiCaprio was going to be the lead.
Unfortunately, DiCaprio's agents convinced him that the role would be far too violent for his fanbase to follow since he had just starred in Titanic. DiCaprio has not released a statement about regretting picking up the position, but he probably feels the heat deep down.
Ray Liotta, The Sopranos
Ray Liotta used to be one of the most recognizable mobster-type characters out there. So, it only makes sense that he was originally considered for the role of Tony Soprano on HBO's legendary program The Sopranos.
Liotta decided to turn the offer down so he could focus more on his career in films. The role was filled by James Gandolfini, whose depiction of Tony Soprano rocked the world.
Kevin Costner, The Shawshank Redemption
Kevin Costner was the biggest name in Hollywood in the 1980s and 90s. Because of this, Costner was the first actor considered when The Shawshank Redemption was originally dreamed up, but Costner wasn't interested.
Costner opted to pass on Shawshank to work on a personal project that ended up flopping massively (see, 1995's Waterworld). Tim Robbins ended up taking the role, and the rest is history.
Michael B. Jordan, Straight Outta Compton
Everybody loves Michael B. Jordan, especially Dr. Dre. So, when Jordan was approached by Dre to star in the musical biopic Straight Outta Compton, he expected him to jump at the opportunity. Unfortunately, Jordan had to pass due to scheduling conflicts because he was actively shooting Fantastic Four at the time.
At the end of the day, Fantastic Four ended up being a massive failure, and Straight Outta Compton received countless accolades, and more than tripled Fantastic Four's profit.
Jim Carrey, Elf
Jim Carrey was actually locked and loaded, ready to play Buddy the Elf. But, massive production changes, budget cuts, and a recession forced the movie's production schedule back 10 whole years. By then, Carrey had already taken the role of the Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Carrey thought that just one singular blockbuster Christmas movie was enough for him. He passed the role to Will Ferrel, who absolutely crushed it.
Henry Winkler, Grease
You may know him as Fonzie from Happy Days, Henry Winkler was offered the part of Danny Zuko in Grease because of his notoriety at the time. Winkler decided to turn down the role because he didn't want to get typecast as that specific type of character. In retrospect, Winkler believes that he should have considered the role more seriously than he previously did.
“It’s not now that I’m like, ‘Oh, I should’ve done the role,’” Winkler stated to 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
Matthew McConaughey actually almost starred beside Kate Winslet in Titanic instead of Leo. McConaughey actually thought that he would have been given the role over DiCaprio in a landslide decision.
“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.”
Robin Williams, The Shining
Robin Williams was the first person that Kubrick considered casting as Jack Torrance in The Shining. But, evidently, Kubrick thought that Williams was "too psychotic" to assume the role. Instead, the position went to Jack Nicholson, which cemented him as one of the most legendary actors of all time.
Burt Reynolds, Live and Let Die
In 1973, Burt Reynolds squashed his opportunity to play James Bond in Live and Let Die. In 2015, Reynolds talked to USA Today about declining the part because he didn't think that the James Bond audience would be able to accept an American agent 007.
Matt Damon, Harvey Dent
Matt Damon immediately declined the role of Harvey Dent when he was approached by the producers of The Dark Knight. He ended up having a major scheduling conflict that prevented him from becoming one of the most legendary characters in movie history. When asked about leaving the movie behind, 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.”
Johnny Depp, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Johnny Depp was on the up-and-up in Hollywood in the 1980s. Because of his rising stardom, he was offered the role of Ferris Bueller in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Depp turned down the role because of a scheduling conflict, but he has mentioned that he deeply regrets giving up the opportunity to Matthew Broderick.