10 Actors Who Came Close To Landing Their Dream Role But Missed For The Weirdest Reasons

There's a lot of work that goes into finding that one person that can bring the script to life. Sometimes, more than one actor is considered for one role.
That also means, for every perfect casting you see on screen, there is at least one actor or more actors that were turned down for the role.
Not because they are bad actors, per se. On the contrary, a lot of actors who were turned down for roles simply are terrific, with some even having won numerous acting awards… Yet, they still failed to receive the final callback. Which is a shame, as some of the roles they lost are opportunities of a lifetime!
From babbling about the wrong character, and conflicting schedules, to not having the right nationality, here are 10 actors who almost got their dream roles.

#1 Christian Bale

Source: Marechal Aurore/ABACA/Abaca/East News, © Titanic/Paramount Pictures and Co-producers

Christian Bale tried out for the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic. However, the director opted against having two British actors play American roles in the same film. Leonardo Di Caprio was eventually cast in the role.

#2 Robin Williams

Source: ADMEDIA/SIPA/EAST NEWS, © Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone / Warner Bros. and co-producers

According to reports, Robin Williams wanted to portray Hagrid in the Harry Potter film series. However, the part was written specifically for a British actor. J.K Rowling, however, wanted a British-only cast.

#3 Harry Styles

Source: ADMEDIA/SIPA/EAST NEWS, © Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone / Warner Bros. and co-producers

Harry Styles was dying to play the title role in the film Elvis. "Harry is an extremely excellent actor," the director stated. The fundamental problem? He's Harry Styles, who's already a famous, recognizable celebrity." Instead, Austin Butler was cast in the role.

#4 Andrew Garfield

Source: Quoin Pics/Everett Collection/East News, Album Online/East News

Andrew Garfield desperately wanted to be Prince Caspian in the film The Chronicles of Narnia. “When I auditioned for Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia, I thought to myself, 'This could be it, this could be it.' But he didn’t get the part. Ben Barnes, a gorgeous and accomplished actor, was cast instead. Apparently, Andrew wasn’t handsome enough.

#5 Eddie Redmayne

Source: Invision/Invision/East News, © Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens / Lucasfilm and co-producers

Eddie Redmayne tried out for the role of Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. However, Adam Driver was cast in the role. Why? According to Eddie, he failed the 'koohh paaaaah' voice. And after about ten shots, the casting director asks him, "Do you have anything else?' "He said, 'No.'"

#6 Tom Holland

Source: © Pablo Cuadra/WireImage/Getty Images, © Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens / Lucasfilm and co-producers

Tom Holland wants to portray Finn in the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens. He tried out for the role, but it didn't go well. "I just couldn't stop laughing," he explained. His scene partner was trying so hard (and failing) to be a believable drone. Obviously, he didn't get the part.

#7 Freddie Prinze Jr.

Source: © realfreddieprinze/Instagram, © Spider-Man/Columbia Pictures and Co-producers

In the film Spider-Man, Freddie Prinze Jr. comes close to becoming his childhood superhero, Peter Parker. However, he veered off-topic throughout the audition, which is when he was cut. "I go into this entire world of what my favorite elements of Spider-Man were, and I naively bring up the alien symbiote, which is Venom," he added.

#8 Robert Redford

Source: FADEL SENNA/AFP/East News, © The Graduate / Lawrence Turman Productions

Robert Redford auditioned for the lead role in The Graduate but was turned down because, as the director phrased it, he couldn't portray a loser. When asked by the director whether he had ever failed to ask a girl out, he replied, "What do you mean?' Well... enough said.

#9 Sean Young

Source: East News, © Batman/Warner Bros. and Co-producers

Sean Young was meant to play Vicki Vale in the film Batman. Unfortunately, the actress was involved in an accident and was unable to play the part adequately because it needed a lot of movement. "They did spring the horse-riding thing on me, and I fell and had an accident," she explained.

#10 Chris Klein

Source: Dee Cercone/Everett Collection/East News, © Mamma Mia! / Universal Pictures and co-producers

Chris Kelin auditioned for a role in Mamma Mia!, but he was expected to sing at the audition (and in the play itself), which did not go well. He explained. I'm not a singer! I'm not sure why I was in there. But I took a risk! It's a musical, so let's see if I can pull it off” Needless to say, it was a very horrible audition."