20 Celebrities Who Lost Their Major Roles To Other Actors

The movie world is downright competitive. Being a big star doesn’t mean that you can easily get your favorite roles. Even when they get the part, they can be replaced at any time. Chances are your favorite movie characters were nearly played by another actress.
There’s a host of reasons why the roles are changed to another celeb. It could be that the producer finds other actors who have a more suitable appearance for the character of the movie. In some cases, the celeb turns it down for other plans. Eventually, certain characters were cast, yet can’t deliver the character in the way they expect.
In this post, we curated 20 celebs who lost their major role to other big-name stars. That will actually surprise you as you can’t imagine how the famous character you know was played by other celebs as they initially planned. Some of them were OK with that, yet others felt bitter when they lost their beloved roles to others.

#1 Initially, Melora Hardin was cast as Jennifer Parker in Back to the Future. But when Michael J. Fox joined the cast as Marty McFly, she was replaced by Claudia Wells. The reason is that she was taller than Fox.

Source: Getty / Universal / Everett

At Page Six, she admitted "[It was] so very, very painful. There’s no doubt it was very painful." And two actors “felt that it emasculated their lead character to have a taller girlfriend.”

Source: Universal

#2 Mary Mouser is a big fan of The Hunger Games series. The Cobra Kai actor even read all the books 24 hours before she sent in her audition tape to play Katniss. But after that, Jennifer Lawrence played this role.

Source: Getty / Lionsgate

Shailene Woodley, Hailee Steinfeld, and Saoirse Ronan also played Katniss in the movie.

Source: Getty

#3 Elle Fanning auditioned for a role on Friends as one of Phoebe's triplets but was not cast, so she humorously boycotted the show.

Source: Getty / NBC

Years later, Dakota – Elle’s older sister, ended up getting cast in the 10th season of Friends. She said, "It was a really big deal in my house, but I refused to watch it."

Source: NBC / Everett

#4 Iwan Rheon originally auditioned for Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, yet Kit Harington got the role instead.

Source: Getty / HBO

However, he got the chance to play Ramsay Bolton for seasons 3–6. The reason is the producers liked him a lot.

Source: HBO

#5 The Derek Shepherd character on Grey's Anatomy was initially given to Rob Lowe. However, he turned it down to star on CBS's Dr. Vegas. Then Patrick Dempsey got the role and played that for 12 seasons.

Source: Getty / ABC / Everett

In his book, he shared, "Year after year after year, all of ABC's new dramas flopped. CBS was on a hot streak that continues to this day. Although Grey's was a much better script, I chose Dr. Vegas. The odds were just too stacked." Ironically, Dr. Vegas only lasted one season, and Grey's Anatomy is currently on its 18th season.

Source: Cbs Photo Archive / CBS via Getty Images

#6 Penn Badgley auditioned for the role of Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad, but Aaron Paul was cast instead.

Source: Getty / AMC / Everett

Chace Crawford shared with the Independent that Breaking Bad was cast around the same time as Gossip Girl. Penn was eventually offered the part of Dan Humphrey, which he gladly accepted.

Source: The CW / Everett

#7 Mädchen Amick was in the running for Gilmore Girls' Lorelai Gilmore, but she was too young to play a mom. Then the role went to Lauren Graham instead.

Source: Getty / The WB / Everett

Source: The WB

#8 Darren Criss tried out for the role of Finn Hudson on Glee, but he wasn't a football player and was too "little" for the part. Then Cory Monteith got the role instead.

Source: Getty / Fox / Everett

Source: Fox / Everett

#9 Joshua Jackson was set to play Owen Hunt on Grey's Anatomy when the Writers Guild of America went on strike only weeks before he was supposed to film his debut episode.

Source: Getty / ABC / Everett

But he had already moved on to star on Fringe by the time the strike ended, and the part was filled by Kevin McKidd.

Source: Fox / Everett

#10 Saoirse Ronan was the "prototype" for the character of Scarlet Witch but didn't end up getting to audition for the role.

Source: Getty / Disney+ / Everett

Source: Disney+ / Everett

#11 Jaleel White was cast as Rudy Huxtable in The Cosby Show a lot of times as the role was originally envisioned to be a young boy. But Keshia Knight Pulliam wowed producers thereafter, and she won the cast.

Source: Getty / NBC / Everett

Source: NBC / Everett

#12 Keke Palmer auditioned for the role of Iris on The Flash, yet didn't make it as she looked "too young" compared to Grant Gustin. Candice Patton won the role instead.

Source: Getty / The CW / Everett

Source: The CW / Everett

#13 Many renowned actors were in talks to play George Costanza on Seinfeld, including Chris Rock.

Source: Getty / NBC

#14 Liza Weil originally screen-tested for Rory Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. Yet she wasn't the "right fit," and the role went to Alexis Bledel instead.

Source: Getty / The WB / Everett

Luckily, Liza won the heart of producers, so they created the role of Paris Geller for her.

Source: Warner Bros / Everett

#15 Timothée Chalamet auditioned to play Peter Parker in the MCU, and he was initially under pressure that he had to go in and do it again. In the end, the role belonged to Tom Holland

Source: Getty / Sony / Everett

Timothée shared, “I read twice and I left sweating in a total panic. I called my agent, Brian Swardstrom, and I said, ‘Brian, I thought about this a lot and I have to go back and knock on that door and read again.'”

Source: Sony / Everett

#16 Kaley Cuoco screen-tested for Knives Out 2 and was on the verge of getting cast when she learned she'd lost the part to Kate Hudson.

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Source: Netflix

#17 Elizabeth Olsen got "the most awkward audition" she's ever had when auditioned for Daenerys Targaryen on Game of Thrones. In the end, Emilia Clarke went on to play the role.

Source: Getty / HBO

Elizabeth remembered reading a Daenerys monologue from Season 1's finale, "After she just burned. And she's making this speech to thousands of people about how she's their queen. They didn't know if they wanted a British accent or not. So, you did it in both. It was terrible. Anytime someone says, 'Bad audition story.' That's one I remember."

Source: HBO

#18 Oliver Hudson was in the running for the role of Jack Pearson on This Is Us. But by the time he was scheduled to screen test with Mandy Moore, Oliver opted to turn it down and go on an already planned fishing trip instead.

Source: Getty / NBC / Everett

In the end, Milo Ventimiglia got the part, and he's been nominated for three Emmy Awards thanks to it.

Source: Nbc / Everett Collection

#19 Rumer Willis was originally cast as Serena Van Der Woodsen on Gossip Girl, but the casting director wanted to cast Blake Lively instead because he was a lesser-known actress at the time.

Source: Getty / The CW / Everett

Source: Getty

#20 Connie Britton was the network's first choice to play Olivia Pope on Scandal, but creator Shonda Rhimes insisted on a Black woman playing the role, therefore Kerry Washington was cast.

Source: Getty / ABC / Everett

Taraji P. Henson was also a contender for the role of Olivia Pope, and she said, "'This is Kerry Washington,' I thought to myself as I went in to read for Shonda Rhimes. 'What am I doing here?'"

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