Another acting thread.

Last week I read an article, I think on Entertainment Weekly, wish I had saved it or something.

Anyway, it was a list of iconic roles that were first offered to someone else.

For example, in The Matrix, Will Smith was first offered the role of Neo, but turned it down saying he wasn't right for the part, so the role went to Keanu Reeves. The role of Morpheus was suppose to go to someone else (Wish I could remember who!) who turned it down, so Laurence Fishburn got the role instead.

This kind of trivia fascinates me. I could read it (but sadly not remember it) all day.

What iconic roles do you know of that was first offered so someone else?

Which one surprised you the most when you heard it?

Found the article

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=2...p;nid=1011

Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones!?!

Jack Nicholson as Michael Coreleon!?!

Johnny Depp as Ferris Bueller!?!

Sean Connery as Morpheus in The Matrix and Gandalf in LOTR!?!

I'm totally 'd out over this.

[Edited 10/16/12 12:30pm]

I think Truman Capote wanted Marilyn Monroe to play Holiday Golightly in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". I love Marilyn, but I can't imagine her in that role. Audrey owned it.

Yeah she did.

Marilyn Monroe would have change the whole vibe of the film.

Michael Keaton was offered to play Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean

funkycat00 said:

Michael Keaton was offered to play Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean

Nothinbutjoy said:

funkycat00 said:

Michael Keaton was offered to play Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean

Considering that Johnny Depp "created" the character's signature swagger...it would've been a totally different film.

funkycat00 said:

Michael Keaton was offered to play Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean

Iam sure that big flop family film "Jack Frost", didn't help his cause. Lovely looking film though.

I've read/heard several times that Tina Turner was up for the role of Shug (TCM says Sofia, not sure that works age-wise) in color purple but turned it down.

In The Golden Girls Rue was supposed to play Rose and Betty Blanche but switched.

Annnd, Elaine Stritch was up for the role of Dorothy (which, while somewhat different, I could picture )

[Edited 10/17/12 20:12pm]

According to IMDB...

Bill Murray, John Travolta and Chevy Chase all turned down the role of Forrest Gump. Travolta admits it was a "mistake".

David Alan Grier, Ice Cube and Dave Chapelle all turned down the role of Bubba. Chapelle has said he thought the movie would bomb and now regrets turning it down.

annette bening was originally cast as catwoman in tim burtons batman returns, but found out she was pregnant right before filming. michelle pfieffer stepped in last minute and gave one of the best performances of her career

The role of Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was originally conceived as a vehicle for Gary Cooper - a sequel to Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. Jean Arthur, in particular, wanted Cooper in the film (they'd paired in Mr. Deeds). But Cooper declined to play it - and the part went to Jimmy Stewart.

I recently read an interview with Ethan Hawke where he said he had auditioned but lost to Di Caprio for that Titanic role.

and I'm not sure if this would be considered an iconic role, but Joseph Gordon Levitt's part in Inception was first offered but turned down by James Franco.

funnily I couldn't get past the first 30 minutes of both films & the only way for me to have gotten through them was if those initial actors played those parts. (I like Leo & JGL, I'm just not invested in them as much as I am Franco & Hawke).

The role of the Terminator was first offered to Gary Coleman...

I can see it

Courtney Cox as Rachel in friends..

Not necessarily iconic roles, but Woody Allen has done a lot of re-casting:

The Purple Rose of Cairo began shooting with Michael Keaton as the male lead. He was replaced with Jeff Daniels after it was decided his style was too 'contemporary' to pull off the Depression-era character.

Husbands and Wives originally had Emily Lloyd in the Juliette Lewis role.

September was completely re-shot. Sam Waterston replaced Sam Shepard (who had replaced Christopher Walken early in the first shoot). Elaine Stritch replaced Maureen O'Sullivan (Mia Farrow's mother) and Denholm Elliot replaced Charles Durning.

Winona Ryder and Robert Downey, Jr. were Allen's first choices for the leads in Melinda & Melinda, but - coming off their problems with the law - he was unable to get them insured.

Diane Keaton replaced Mia Farrow in Manhattan Murdery Mystery (something about a "Soon-Yi"?). Farrow did return to finish Husbands and Wives post-revelation, though.

Scarlett Johansson stepped in when Kate Winslet had to bow out of Match Point.

Lucy Punch was cast for You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger when Nicole Kidman had to pull out last-minute.

[Edited 10/18/12 16:09pm]

Byron said:

The role of the Terminator was first offered to Gary Coleman...

I can see it

What are you talkin' about Byron?

PREDOMINANT said:

Byron said:

The role of the Terminator was first offered to Gary Coleman...

I can see it

What are you talkin' about Byron?

I say, good man...about what are you talking?

It's "what chu talkin' 'bout" lol

Prince as Ruby Rhod...just wouldn't of worked. It needed a comic

John Wayne as Dirty Harry (ugh )

almost every leading man of the late-60s/early-70s for the role of Michael Corleone (including Redford and Beatty if Im not mistaken : )

Cary Grant and David Niven as 007 for Dr.No ( )

Pierce Brosnan as 007 for The Living Daylights in 87

Clive Owen as 007 for Casino Royale ()

Eric Scholtz (or whatever his name is) as Marty McFly (he actually shot some scenes before being "replaced" by Fox)

Lee Marvin as Quint (Jaws)

Russell Crowe/Dougray Scott as Wolverine

Angela Bassett as Storm

Mel Gibson as Maximus (Gladiator)

Jake Gyllenhall () and this bloke, Eion Bailey (yeah, I don't who he is either) as Batman (Begins), could have worked

and I still don't get why Harrison Ford is still friends with George Lucas, that bastard always considered him as an amateur lightweight, like a painful 4th option or something, wtf, Nick Nolte as Han Solo???? please

BACK TO THE FUTURE

Eric Stoltz was Marty McFly, he got fired after five weeks on the job

John Lithgow was offered the role of Doc Brown, but was too busy

Melora Hardin was Marty's girlfriend Jennifer when Stoltz was Marty, but got fired after Stoltz got fired because she was too tall for Michael J. Fox

JJ Cohen was supposed to be Biff, but producers decided he wasn't big enough to be the famous bully

Wye

JoeTyler said:

almost every leading man of the late-60s/early-70s for the role of Michael Corleone (including Redford and Beatty if Im not mistaken : )

IIRC, Paramount wanted Sir Laurence Olivier for the role of Vito Corleone. I also think Martin Sheen was up for the Michael Corleone role.

Clive Owen as 007 for Casino Royale ()

When I saw him in Croupier I thought he was perfect for the role, and honestly I don't think Daniel Craig, as good as he is, is that much better in the role than Owen would have been. Though I saw Layer Cake before Craig was cast and thought he was a great fit in his own right.

and I still don't get why Harrison Ford is still friends with George Lucas, that bastard always considered him as an amateur lightweight, like a painful 4th option or something, wtf, Nick Nolte as Han Solo???? please

The more surprising thing is that, after Star Wars, he still didn't see Ford as the first choice for Raiders. Nolte could have done it, but I don't seem him bearing a sequel or sharing screen time with Ewoks. Wasn't Dreyfus up for Solo too, or was that just the SNL skit (LOL)?

Billy Idol was offered the Doors film by Oliver Stone (Idol reminds me vocally of Jim Morrison at times, so it could of worked), and was also considered the role of the bad guy in "Terminator 2", but a bad motorcycle accident put to bed those offers apparantly. Shame...

thesexofit said:

Billy Idol was offered the Doors film by Oliver Stone (Idol reminds me vocally of Jim Morrison at times, so it could of worked), and was also considered the role of the bad guy in "Terminator 2", but a bad motorcycle accident put to bed those offers apparantly. Shame...

Billy Idol did appear in a cameo role in the Doors movie, but I wasn't aware he was offered the lead role of Jim Morrison.

Also, Sylvester Stallone was offered the lead role of Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop but eventually turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. However, it wasn't intended to be an action/comedy movie until Eddie Murphy landed the role.

Julia Roberts was offered but turned down the lead female role in The Blind Side that eventually went to Sandra Bullock.

Ian McKellen was offered the role of Professor Dumbeldore in the Harry Potter franchise but turned it down since he was already playing the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Matt Damon was offered the role of Harvey Dent/Two Face in The Dark Knight but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.

And Kevin Costner was offered the lead role in The Shawshank Redemption but turned it down so he could film Waterworld. That role was given to Tim Robbins.

728huey said:

thesexofit said:

Billy Idol was offered the Doors film by Oliver Stone (Idol reminds me vocally of Jim Morrison at times, so it could of worked), and was also considered the role of the bad guy in "Terminator 2", but a bad motorcycle accident put to bed those offers apparantly. Shame...

Billy Idol did appear in a cameo role in the Doors movie, but I wasn't aware he was offered the lead role of Jim Morrison.

Also, Sylvester Stallone was offered the lead role of Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop but eventually turned it down due to scheduling conflicts. However, it wasn't intended to be an action/comedy movie until Eddie Murphy landed the role.

Julia Roberts was offered but turned down the lead female role in The Blind Side that eventually went to Sandra Bullock.

Ian McKellen was offered the role of Professor Dumbeldore in the Harry Potter franchise but turned it down since he was already playing the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Matt Damon was offered the role of Harvey Dent/Two Face in The Dark Knight but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts.

And Kevin Costner was offered the lead role in The Shawshank Redemption but turned it down so he could film Waterworld. That role was given to Tim Robbins.

Yeah, the film Stallone did instead was "cobra" I think? Great poster, but a rather thin film, even for Sly LOL. At least its atmospheric....

Madonna and Goldie Hawn were supposed to star in Chicago with Richard Gere,but they walked away from it.Huge mistake...the film was a major smash.

FunkySideEffects said:

The role of Angelina Jolie in Mr & Mrs Smith was first offered to Aishwarya Rai - imagine what would ave happened if Anj didn't get that part. Maybe him & Jen might still have been 2gether or he would have married Ash!! This is her here, she's way prettier than Anj [img:$uid]http://gofitandhealthy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/aishwarya-rai.jpg[/img:$uid] [img:$uid]http://openwalls.com/image/3154/thumb3_beautiful_aishwarya_rai.jpg[/img:$uid]

omg I never knew it was offered to her! They would have made a good couple I guess, but indian media is really giving her a hard time right now about her baby weight, and I got used to her becoming a Bachan.