Many of the fictional characters in successful films were much loved and identified with the actors who portrayed them. Could you imagine Forrest Gump, without Tom Hanks or Neo from The Matrix, as a woman?
And yet, it almost happened and that's because others turned down those roles.
See below 8 Hollywood actors who turned down great big screen roles.
Drew Barrymore "breaks the mold"
It is a fact that Drew Barrymore turned down the lead role in "Scream" and instead chose to be the girl who is murdered at the beginning of the film.
She explained the following in an earlier interview: "In the horror genre, the thing that irritated me most of all was, I always knew the main character was going to make it in the end," she told Hot Ones host Sean Evans in 2020.
"What I wanted to do is take away that sense of comfort. I asked if I could be Casey Becker to prove that that rule doesn't apply in this movie," he added.
DiCaprio the susceptible
Coming off the heels of Titanic, which launched his career, DiCaprio had already signed on to star in 2000's American Psycho. With still no explanation, he "tore up" the contracts and turned down the role. The only one who had anything to comment on this was one of the writers, Guinevere Turner, who felt that journalist Gloria Steinem urged DiCaprio not to be in the film.
The screenwriter told Vice in 2020: 'A friend told me that Gloria Steinem went with Leonardo DiCaprio to watch a Yankees game, and I believe she told him: "Please don't make this movie. Starting with Titanic, there's a whole planet full of 13-year-old girls waiting to see what you're going to do next, and you're going to be in a movie that has horrific violence against women.'" This remains an unsolved mystery to this day, as no one has come forward to confirm or deny anything.
Will Smith was a little too romantic than he should have been
In 2015, Will Smith confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that he had indeed turned down the lead role in the Oscar-winning film Django Unchained.
"It was about the creative direction of the story," the actor said, adding: "To me, it's as great a story as anyone would want: a man learning how to kill to save his wife who has been captured as a slave."
Smith went on to reveal that he had some disagreements when it came to the plot, but he and director Quentin Tarantino didn't get along. "I wanted to do the greatest love story African Americans had ever seen," he confessed.
Liam Neeson chose... marriage!
The role of James Bond has been claimed by many Hollywood stars, but Liam Neeson "threw away" that opportunity. During an interview in 2021, the actor revealed that there was a possibility of him becoming the next 007 agent.
The actor turned down the role, and at the same time, his late wife, Natasha Richardson, had jokingly and seriously stated that she would not marry him if she accepted the role. Neither she nor anyone else ever mentioned anything more about this statement.
John Travolta in a huge dilemma
The role of "Forrest Gump" has been completely identified with Tom Hanks and it is very difficult to imagine any other actor. However, the lead role in the film was originally played by John Travolta. However, he turned down this legendary film for an equally iconic film, Pulp Fiction. He seems to have made the right choice, as "Forrest Gump" and "Pulp Fiction" became such big hits that they put Hanks and Travolta up for Oscars, respectively.
Hanks ended up winning the Best Actor award.
In a 2007 interview with MTV, Travolta revealed that he had no regrets about turning down the role. "If I didn't do something that Tom Hanks did, then I did something else that was just as interesting or fun. Or if I didn't do something Richard Gere did, I did something just as good. But I feel good about some that I gave up because other careers were created," John Travolta said.
Zendaya doesn't need
Zendaya certainly hasn't had to chase many roles, as she is admittedly one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood right now. One could argue that huge success from a very young age was one of the reasons why the "Euphoria" star has turned down the lead role for the 2014 biopic "Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B." She was the production's first choice to portray Aaliyah, but in June 2014, she announced she would not be in the film.
A month later, Nickelodeon actress Alexandra Shipp was announced as the lead. In videos, which were deleted, Zendaya explained that she did not feel comfortable acting in the film, stating:
"Let me explain something to you. The reason why I chose not to do Aaliyah had nothing to do with critics or people telling me I couldn't do it, I wasn't talented enough or black enough. It had absolutely nothing to do with that," concluding that she had some issues with the "non-existent production value." In the end, she noted that she tried to contact Aaliyah's family to ask for permission to portray the late singer, but received no response.
Jillian Anderson is... of quality
X-Files star Jillian Anderson wants the best for her career and the role of director, for her, is very important. That's why she turned down the role of Cora in the hugely successful British period drama Downton Abby, as well as Game of Thrones.
The actress explained her decision not to take part in the aforementioned hits, telling the Daily Mail, "My 18-year-old daughter can't believe I turned down Game Of Thrones or Downton, shows she loves to watch. But if I'm going to spend that much time working on something, I'd rather work with a director like Martin Scorsese." After a short time, Anderson accepted the role of Margaret Thatcher in the official hit, "The Crown."
Sandra Bullock knows what suits her
The producers of "The Matrix" had a hard time finding the right leading man before settling on Keanu Reeves. According to The Sun, they were so desperate that they sent the script to Sandra Bullock, willing to turn the main character, Neo, into a woman. However, she turned down the proposal because, as she said: "It wasn't something she could do at the time." "So it really didn't go anywhere," admitted, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, to The Wrap in 2019."
According to the same source, Bullock had suggested Reeves as the ideal candidate for the role.
Source: protothema.gr
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