11 Actors Who Said "Nah" To Huge Movie Roles Without Hesitation

Characters become memorable mainly due to the performers that play them, and it's frequently impossible to picture anybody else in the position after that. Even though the film industry is a cutthroat business, some performers are dismissed from a part, some quit due to other obligations, but some renowned actors occasionally receive offers for features they do not want to accept.
Numerous well-known actors, like Hugh Jackman, have declined the part in blockbuster films like James Bond. Even the renowned Will Smith has dropped a significant role in the past; he was first given the part of Neo in The Matrix, but as we all know, Keanu Reeves ultimately took it. Some actors regret declining a project, while others, like Jack Nicholson, understand that it can be the right decision, regardless of how successful or highly acclaimed the picture becomes.

1. Betty White

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Betty White said that she declined a part in As Good As It Gets due to a sequence in which a dog was mistreated during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2011.An "adorable puppy" is thrown down a trash chute in the offending sequence, according to White. White claimed that even if the dog "falls on some pillows" without being wounded, she "didn't want to set that example." She said, "Of course, the movie was a huge success, but I didn't regret declining."

2. Ian McKellen

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After Richard Harris passed from the character of Albus Dumbledore in the Harry Potter movies, Ian McKellen didn't want to assume the role since he was aware that Harris didn't think highly of him as a performer.
McKellen said in an interview with BBC World News HARDtalk that when he was asked about entering the Wizarding World, he decided, "I couldn't take over the part from a performer I'd known didn't approve of me." Harris, according to the interviewer, thought McKellen and others of his friends were "technically excellent, but passionless." McKellen called it "nonsense" and disregarded it.
Though it seems that leaving out Dumbledore wasn't much of a loss, McKellan remarked that he "played the true wizard," alluding to his role as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings movie series. For the subsequent movies in the series, Michael Gambon takes over as Dumbledore.

3. Will Ferrell

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Will Ferrell chose against taking the lead in a sequel to the instantly beloved Christmas comedy Elf because he disagreed with the screenplay and couldn't bring himself to promote the picture passionately. The Hollywood Reporter quoted Ferrell as saying, "I would have had to market the film from an honest position, " like, 'Oh no, it's not good. That much money was just too good to pass up. Can I truly speak those words, I wondered. I doubt it. Therefore, I suppose I can't act in the movie. In this example, "that much money" is a cool $29 million.

4. Bruce Willis

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In a 1996 New York Times interview, Bruce Willis claimed that he declined the central part in Ghost because he didn't think the movie's major romance made any sense. When asked about his choice, Willis, who was set to co-star with his then-wife Demi Moore, replied, "Simply put, I didn't understand it. Hey, the man is dead, I said. Famous final words: "How are you going to have a romance?" He referred to himself as a "knucklehead" for passing up the chance. In place of Moore, Patrick Swayze played Sam Wheat alongside Molly Jensen.

5. Leonardo DiCaprio

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Even though he spoke with George Lucas about it, Leonardo DiCaprio said in a 2015 interview with ShortList that he "simply didn't feel ready to take that dive" to portray Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels. In Batman Forever, he felt the same way about the role of Robin. DiCaprio said, "Joel Schumacher is a really good director, but I don't believe I was ready for anything like that," after revealing that he met with the director to discuss the part. In the end, Hayden Christensen was cast as Anakin, while Chris O'Donnell was cast as Robin.

6. Jonah Hill

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Jonah Hill said that the director, Todd Phillips, had offered him "any one of the three principal characters in The Hangover" in a 2013 interview with Bullett. But he declined it out of concern for living the rest of his life as "The Guy from Superbad." Hill said I knew I could be a serious actor, but I also knew I couldn't go from Schindler's List to Superbad. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis became The Hangover's three main actors.

7. Zac Efron

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To push himself and advance as an actor, Zac Efron declined to play the lead part of Ren McCormack in the 2011 remake of Footloose. In a 2009 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Efron stated, "Footloose would have been a great challenge, but the performers that I admire and who put in a lot of effort in this business are always mixing things up, experimenting with other genres, and developing new skill sets. The unknown is what I'll always find appealing." He had just finished playing Troy Bolton in the final installment of the High School Musical trilogy. Kenny Wormald took the role of Ren McCormack instead.

8. Will Smith

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In an interview with Wired, Will Smith claimed that the proposal for The Matrix didn't persuade him to take on the part of Neo. He said: "The Matrix is a challenging idea to sell, as you well know. I just didn't see it on the pitch. I saw Keanu's performance, and although I seldom say this, I would have ruined it. I would have completely ruined the Matrix. I couldn't have let the movie be at that moment because I wasn't a wise enough performer. Keanu, however, had the sense to leave it alone."

9. Nicolas Cage

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According to Nicolas Cage, he turned down roles in The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix because he wanted to prioritize his family.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent director Nicolas Cage observed, "No reality-based Nic Cage exists who doesn't want to spend time with his kids. There is no Nic Cage that prioritized his family over his job. Because I needed to stay home with my son Weston, I declined both Matrix and The Lord of the Rings because I didn't want to spend three years in Australia or New Zealand."

10. Hugh Jackman

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Hugh Jackman disclosed that he had previously been approached to portray the legendary 007 but turned it down due to his Wolverine character in the "X-Men" movies, notably "X-Men 2," at the time. After 2002's "Die Another Day," Daniel Craig succeeded Pierce Brosnan. Jackman said he would "seriously consider" portraying Bond in a 2015 interview with the Hollywood Reporter.

11. Jack Nicholson

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Although Jack Nicholson was initially approached for the role of crime leader Michael Corleone in "The Godfather" films, Al Pacino received two Academy Award nominations. The actor said that he declined because "back then I thought that Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians" in an interview with Movieline.