14 Celebrities Who Were Offered a Cult Role But They Missed Their Chance to Hit The Jackpot

Jessica Wilson
Dec 02, 2022
Dec 02, 2022

We often heard sad stories of actors' plight and how a good job is hard to come by. However, we unintentionally ignore that there are a ton of actors who unhesitatingly turned down roles. Like really, really good roles.
Gwyneth Paltrow in “Titanic”? Brad Pitt in “Almost Famous”? Have you ever imagined that? Well, those almost happen.
As a general rule, the actors who end up appearing in films are often not the first choice for roles. This means some of the most iconic roles in films and TV shows could have looked extremely different if the original casting panned out. Just how different? Let’s just say this alternate silver screen universe is hard to even imagine.
Below are 14 actors who missed their chance to become a part of hit movies. You can see more here, here, and here.

#1 Wonder Woman: Angelina Jolie — Gal Gadot

Source: © Jeff Spicer / Getty Images Entertainment/ Getty Images, © Wonder Woman / Warner Bros.

When it comes to Wonder Woman, we instantly imagine Gal Gadot. However, before that the role was gone to Angelina Jolie but she turned it down.

#2 Harley Quinn: Amanda Seyfried — Margot Robbie

Source: © mingey / Instagram, © Suicide Squad / Warner Bros.

Margot Robbie was the first choice for the role of Harley Quinn, it was Amanda Seyfried. At that moment, her images were associated with short shorts and ponytails. Anyway, Harley Quinn was played by Margot Robbie.

#3 Star-Lord: Joseph Gordon-Levitt — Chris Pratt

Source: © hitrecordjoe/ Instagram, © Guardians of the Galaxy / Walt Disney Pictures

Joseph Gordon-Levitt was one of the promising candidates for the role of the atypical superhero, Peter Quill. But, he refused it and the role went to Chris Pratt.

#4 Lolita: Natalie Portman — Dominique Swain

Source: © natalieportman / Instagram, © Lolita / Pathé

Natalie Portman immediately turned down the role of Lolita in Nabokov’s novel because the actress didn’t want to portray this kind of role. eventually, Dominique Swain took over it.

#5 Rogue: Kate Winslet — Anna Paquin

Source: © Mildred Pierce / Killer Films, © X-Men film series / 20th Century Studios

It’s hard to imagine someone else playing the role of the mutant girl in the X-men blockbuster, which was released in 2000. However, many might not know that initially, the representatives of 20th Century Fox invited Kate Winslet to take part in the flick and she said no.

#6 Wolverine: Johnny Depp — Hugh Jackman

Source: © johnnydepp / Instagram, © X-Men film series / 20th Century Studios

Hugh Jackman got a lucky ticket to take part in the X-Men blockbuster. His portrayal of Wolverine helped him famous and has continued taking on the role for almost 2 decades. But, this character originally was given to Johnny Depp.

#7 Leonard: Macaulay Culkin — Johnny Galecki

Source: © culkamania / Instagram, © The Big Bang Theory / Warner Bros. Television

Macaulay Culkin was offered the million-dollar role of Leonard several times but the actor kept refusing the offer. He didn’t like the idea of the series and even when realizing how much money he lost by turning it down, he never regrets it.

#8 Mitchie: Selena Gomez — Demi Lovato

Source: © selenagomez / Instagram, © Camp Rock / Disney Channel

Demi Lovato rose to stardom thanks to the movie “Camp Rock”, a popular youth comedy. Initially, the Disney studio invited Selena Gomez to play it because she could show off her vocal talents. But, she refused, saying that she didn’t have enough acting skills to do this job.

#9 Napoleon Solo: Tom Cruise — Henry Cavill

Source: © Mission: Impossible II / Paramount Pictures, © The Man from U.N.C.L.E. / Warner Bros.

Guy Ritchie, the director of “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”, wanted Tom Cruise to portray Napoleon Solo. The actor first agreed with this offer but later turned it down. Eventually, the role was given to Henry Cavill.

#10 Catherine Tramell: Michelle Pfeiffer — Sharon Stone

Source: © Batman Returns / Warner Bros., © Basic Instinct / Carolco Pictures, Inc

Sharon Stone became world-famous thanks to her role in “Basic Instinct”. Before her, Michelle Pfeiffer, who was already a famous star by that time, turned down Paul Verhoeven’s offer to shoot in the movie.

#11 Noah Calhoun: George Clooney — Ryan Gosling

Despite starting acting at a young age, his role in “The Notebook” truly made him famous. However, George Clooney was initially supposed to play this character and refused at the last moment. But he eventually passed on that role because of Hollywood veteran Paul Newman, who played Noah in his golden age. Clooney realized that he doesn’t resemble Newman at all.

#12 Lydia Deetz: Sarah Jessica Parker — Winona Ryder

It is said that acting in Burton’s movie is almost a 100% success for any actor, but it wasn’t like this. Sarah Jessica Parker was one of the candidates for the role of Lydia in the fantasy movie “Beetlejuice” but she refused to play it. Finally, Tim Burton saw the young Winona Ryder playing in a teenage drama and passed the role on to her.

#13 Django Unchained: Will Smith — Jamie Foxx

Will Smith had been working hard on the concept of Django Unchained together with Quentin Tarantino, but because of their different understandings of the main idea, they parted. Smith said, “We talked, we met, we sat for hours and hours about it. I wanted to make that movie so badly, but I felt the only way was, it had to be a love story, not a vengeance story. I don’t believe in violence as the reaction to violence. So when I’m looking at that, it’s like: No, no, no. It has to be for love. The actor’s place was taken by Jamie Foxx and the movie ended up getting several Oscars.

#14 Vivian: Michelle Pfeiffer— Julia Roberts

Michelle Pfeiffer didn’t like “the script’s tone” so she turned down the offer to play Vivian. At the same time, the young and comparatively barely famous, Julia Roberts decided to try herself in this role. An obvious “chemistry” appeared between Richard Gere and Julia on their first meeting.

Share this article