Movie Roles That Stars Turned Down

I don't think anyone can blame the actors for passing on Avatar. Cameron isn't exactly known for showcasing actors, unless we're talking about Arnold, and he writes dialogue about as well as George Lucas.

 

Selleck had already been fitted for wardrobe and began all the pre production stuff for Raiders when CBS picked up the option and forced him to back out because of his contract for Magnum. They wanted to start filming the new series in what would have been the middle of Raiders filming.

 

Paltrow turned down Titanic

Connery turned down Lord of the Rings

Hathaway turned down Knocked Up

Hackman, Jeremy Irons and Connery all turned down Silence of the Lambs

Kelly Lynch, Greta Scacchi, Meg Ryan and Michelle Pfeiffer all turned down Basic Instinct.

 

Stallone turned down Romancing the Stone.

 

Cameron is one of those directors where it won't be worth an A-listers time given the material, his reputation and working conditions. Not to say he doesn't get good actors (Sigourney Weaver), but most have better options.

 

James Caan was originally tapped to be Rocky, but Stallone refused to release the script unless he was also going to play the lead role.

 

The same kind of deal with Remington Steele kept Pierce Brosnan from playing James Bond back in the mid '80s. We got Timothy Dalton for two movies before Brosnan took the role in 1995.

 

Henry Winkler was the top choice as Danny in "Grease," but he was worried that the Fonz and Zuko would lock him in as the street punk in retrospectives. Travolta was the second choice. Winkler hasn't had a starring role in three decades.

 

Let's not dis the Fonz too much. He was one of the producers of MacGyver and has steadily had acting jobs, including a key role in Scream and a decently meaty role on Royal Pains. He wanted to escape the Fonz, and I think he's done that.

 

Yep, the Fonz has kept a steady stream of work, a lot of behind the scenes stuff as well. It's just so many people still just see him as the Fonz that it looks unnatural when you see him in other roles (the Waterboy for one, Arrested Development, and now on Royal Pains...like Arrested Development a good show that doesn't get a lot of appreciation)

In looking at the list and I can't help but think how many of these movies would have had the same impact with the stars who turned them down...like Will Smith said about the Matrix (I would have messed it up), not every actor fits a role that well. I can't picture Travolta as Gump...and I can picture Travolta in a lot of stuff.

 

As I recall, the stars of "The Abyss" practically accused him of attempted murder after that film wrapped.

 

They were supposed to be the same character, I believe. Vic, from Reservoir Dogs, was supposed to be the hitman opposite Jules.