Alternate Casting: 40 Iconic Movie Roles That Almost Went to Different Actors

Stephanie Meyer had imagined Henry Cavill for the role of Edward while she was writing Twilight, but he was deemed too old by the time movie production began.

2. Eddie Murphy was initially assigned to have a major role in the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. However, the script was heavily rewritten from comic relief to love interest and that part eventually went to Catherine Hicks as a whale scientist.

3. Mark Hamill auditioned for the role of Mozart in the movie adaptation of 'Amadeus' after playing the role on Broadway, but was rejected after a studio executive said, “I don't want Luke Skywalker in this film.”

4. Catherine Zeta-Jones was initially offered the lead role in Chicago, but she turned it down in favor of playing Velma in the same movie, just so she could sing “All That Jazz.”

5. Reba McEntire was offered the role of “The Unsinkable Molly Brown” in James Cameron's Titanic, but she turned it down due to filming being delayed beyond the 3 months she set aside to film it and she was worried about the people on her payroll not being able to work.

Beyoncé assumed she would automatically get the title role of Princess Tiana, Disney’s first black princess, in the 2009 film “The Princess and the Frog,” so she refused to audition. The role went to Anika Noni Rose, who had co-starred with Beyoncé in the 2006 film Dreamgirls.

7. Dave Chappelle was offered the role of Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue in Forrest Gump but he turned it down because he thought the character was demeaning and the movie would bomb.

8. Mark Ruffalo won his role in Shutter Island by sending a fan letter to Martin Scorsese in which he told him how much he’d love to work with him. Ruffalo’s future co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Josh Brolin were being considered for the role.

9. Anthony Michael Hall was the first choice to play the lead role of Private Joker in “Full Metal Jacket.” Hall spent eight months preparing for the role but could not reach an agreement with Stanley Kubrick regarding monetary compensation, and was replaced by Matthew Modine.

10. Keanu Reeves was the last choice for the role of “Neo” from The Matrix. Brad Pitt was first to accept before declining. Leonardo DiCaprio later accepted before declining. Others considered were Will Smith, Nicolas Cage, Sandra Bullock, Johnny Depp, Kevin Costner, David Duchovny, and Tom Cruise.

The actor who played George McFly in Back to the Future rejected the role for Part II of the series because of the script. Jeffery Weissman was hired and using a face mold made in the first movie and prosthetics, they were able to recreate the original actor’s likeness resulting in a lawsuit against the company.

12. Harold Ramis was set to direct “Galaxy’s Quest”, with Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, or Alec Baldwin in the lead roles. Neither actors were available, and later Ramis left the project after DreamWorks favored Tim Allen in the lead instead. Ramis later said he was impressed with Allen’s performance in the film.

13. Matthew McConaughey originally auditioned with Kate Winslet for ‘Titanic’ (1997) and was confident he got the role of Jack, but Leonardo DiCaprio interviewed next and James Cameron said every woman in the building showed up for the meeting so he thought, “maybe I should cast this guy.”

14. The lead role in “Edward Scissorhands” was originally offered to Tom Cruise, but he wanted a happier ending and declined. Before the role was given to Johnny Depp, Tom Hanks, Gary Oldman, Jim Carrey, John Cusack, William Hurt, Robert Downy Jr., and Michael Jackson had all been offered and/or considered.

15. Sylvester Stallone wanted to make Beverly Hills Cop a less comedic and more action-oriented film, which the studio rejected as being far too expensive so they went ahead with Eddie Murphy in the titular role. Stallone heavily revised the screenplay and made Cobra (1986).

Kevin Costner’s first big break in Hollywood was ‘The Big Chill’ and he ended up getting cut out of the movie in the final cut.

17. Pierce Brosnan could have played James Bond earlier in ‘The Living Daylights’ but had to return to Remington Steele because it got popular due to Brosnan’s offer to play James Bond. Timothy Dalton was given the role instead.

18. John Candy turned down the role for “Honey I shrunk the Kids” because he felt his good friend, Rick Moranis, was better suited for it.

19. The role of Captain Jack Sparrow for the Pirates of Caribbean franchise was initially offered to Jim Carrey, but he turned it down for Bruce Almighty.

20. Carrie Fisher’s daughter, Billie Lourd, did audition for the role of Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

Steve Martin and Martin Short both turned down the role of Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber. Originally, the Farrelly Brothers didn’t know who Jim Carrey was and were only told that he was “The White Guy” on In Living Color.

22. Robin Williams was interested in playing the role of Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, but he was rejected due to the “all-British and Irish cast” policy.

23. Burt Reynolds was considered for the role of Michael Corleone in Godfather but Marlon Brando said he would walk if they cast him. He said, “he is the epitome of something that makes me want to throw up. He is the epitome of everything that is disgusting about the thespian, he worships at the temple of his own narcissism.”

24. Ryan Gosling gained 60 pounds by drinking melted ice cream to play the father in Peter Jackson's “The Lovely Bones.” He was then told he was too fat to play the part and the role went to Mark Wahlberg.

25. When Sean Connery departed the role of James Bond, Dick Van Dyke was asked to consider taking over. When Van Dyke reminded Bond producer Albert Broccoli of his famously bad English accent from “Mary Poppins,” Broccoli replied: “Oh, that’s right—forget it!”