12 "Rejected" Actors That Ended Up Becoming Hollywood Stars
Hollywood is definitely a cut-throat environment where anyone can be famous or destroyed overnight. Actors’ profiles will immediately skyrocket if they are cast in the right roles. And after hitting the big time, they have more lucrative offers come across their table.
Everything doesn’t happen smoothly like that. Even the most acclaimed actors got fired from a project, at least. Over the years, they are gradually familiar with rejection of being turned down from a role for different reasons.
Although they skipped once-in-a-lifetime chances to portray iconic roles, many of them still manage to have a successful career.
#1. Taylor Momsen
Taylor is best known for her portrayal of Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl. But as seasons went on, her appearance started to decline and then she vanished from the show. Initially, "creative differences" were given as the explanation for her departure, but her actions on set were also included.
The actress made Project Runway‘s Tim Gunn, who played the mentor to Jenny in an episode, angry. Tim criticized Taylor for her lack of professionalism on the set.
"What a diva," Tim told E! News. "She was pathetic, she couldn’t remember her lines, and she didn’t even have that many. I thought to myself, ‘Why are we being held hostage by this brat?'"
#2. Megan Fox
Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise starred Megan Fox as the lead. She initially agreed to film in the third movie. However, her contract was immediately cut after some controversial remarks she made about the film's director.
In an interview with Wonderland, she said, “He’s like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad-man reputation, … He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is.”
#3. Isaiah Washington
Many might not know that many actors of Grey’s Anatomy come and go and Isaiah was one of them. In the first three seasons of the series, he portrayed Dr. Preston Burke and had a fictional relationship with the beloved character Dr. Cristina Yang.
The actor was removed from the project calling his then-costar T. R. Knight an anti-gay slur, as well as getting into a physical altercation with Patrick Dempsey.
#4. Chadwick Boseman
People are pretty cut up about the death of Chadwick, who is best known for the role of Black Panther. However, many might not know that Chadwick was particularly troubled by one role that made him doubt everything.
During his 2018 Howard University commencement speech, the actor spoke up about getting fired from All My Children after disagreeing with the racial stereotypes his character was perpetuating. He portrayed the role for one week and then was replaced by Michael B. Jordan.
#5. Rachel Bilson
After discussing her sex life in detail—including the fact that she didn't experience an orgasm until age 38, Rachel reflected on how she had lost her job.
Rachel said on her Broad Ideas podcast, “This is the first time it’s ever happened to me in my professional life that I lost a job this week because of things that were said,”
“A job got taken away from me because I was speaking candidly and openly about sex in a humorous way on our friend’s podcast. I basically got a job, that I already had, pulled from me because I was speaking openly about sex.”
#6. Ryan Gosling
Ryan Gosling was invited to play the grieving father Jack Salmon in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. Ryan thought it would add to the character's depressed state if he gained weight. Ryan showed up to set 60 pounds heavier, weighing in at 210 pounds. He forgot to discuss it with Peter first, and as a result, he was replaced with Mark Wahlberg.
#7. Anne Hathaway
Anne was first supposed to play Alison Scott in Judd Apatow's Knocked Up, but she was fired from the project because of her disagreement.
Anne didn’t want to film the child birthing scene or at least, she wanted Judd to make it a little less graphic. Judd refused her demand and decided to remove her from the movie. The role eventually went to Katherine Heigl.
#8. Colin Firth
Colin Firth was really chosen to provide the voice of the lovable bear in the 2014 film Paddington. However, it was found that he sounded "too old" for the part after he had finished recording the entire movie. Ben Whishaw, who eventually took over for Colin, recorded all of the scenes again.
#9. Chloë Grace Moretz
At age 11, Chloë voiced Penny in the animated film Bolt. In fact, she recorded the entire movie! Disney finally replaced her with Miley Cyrus, who was more notable than her. But Chloë's efforts weren't totally in vain. They left in Chloë's voice as the younger version of Penny in the film.
#10. Julianne Moore
It is a fact that the director has the final say. During filming a 2019 episode of Watch What Happens Live!, Julianne and director Nicole Holofcener disagreed on their vision for the main character, Lee Israel. For her portrayal, the actress demanded to wear a prosthetic nose and a fat suit. Julianne Moore, eventually, got fired from the movie and was replaced by Marielle Heller.
#11. Natalie Portman
It’s hard to imagine anyone else but Claire Danes as Juliet. But, the first chance was given to Natalie Portman. It is said that 20th Century Fox believed she looked too young for the part. At that time the actress was just 13 while Leo DiCaprio was 21.
#12. Holly Hunter
Believe it or not, the original plan called for a girl to play the title role in Chicken Little. Holly Hunter was chosen for the titular part back when it was a female. Disney's former CEO and chairman, Michael Eisner, wasn't feeling it, though.
“I don't want [Chicken Little] to be a girl, I want it to be a boy,” producer Randy Fullmer told Collider. So, they got rid of Holly, and Zach Braff ultimately ended up voicing the animated poultry.
Do you add someone else? Let us know in the comments.