20 actors who passed up iconic roles

Applegate has certainly played some memorable roles during a successful, award-winning acting career. She first made a name for herself as the ditzy Kelly Bundy on Married... with Children, and drew plenty of praise with her won sitcom Jesse, and as the empowering Veronica Corningstone in the Anchorman films. So, maybe it's not that big a deal she passed on playing this iconic comedy character portrayed by Reese Witherspoon. However, Applegate told Entertainment Tonight in 2015: "I got scared of kind of repeating myself," by taking the role soon after finishing Married... . That said, Applegate also stated she regretted the decision to pass.

Bassett's career wasn't filled with many leading roles during the late 1990s and into the 2000s, but that wasn't enough for her to take this celebrated part that led Halle Barry to become the first African-American woman to win a Best Actress Academy Award. Back in 2002, according to Entertainment Weekly, as reported by Newsweek, Bassett noted: "I wasn’t going to be a prostitutė on film." Though Leticia Musgrove was not a prostitutė, Bassett claimed to find the character demeaning and felt the portrayal would stain her career going forward.

According to Bill Gerber, a producer on the most recent version of A Star is Born (2018), as told to The Hollywood Reporter, there was serious talk of Beyoncé playing the female lead. However, she got pregnant and things never materialized in that direction. Depending on who is doing the talking, Clint Eastwood was slated to play opposite Beyoncé, while Will Smith was also reportedly considered for the male lead, which ultimately went to Bradley Cooper; with, obviously, Lady Gaga, playing Ally. Considering the praise and accolades those two received for their performances, the right choice was made.

When Blunt discussed being offered the role of Natasha "Black Widow" Romanoff of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (which, obviously, has been brilliantly played by Scarlett Johansson) with Howard Stern in 2021, it's easy to tell that it's still a disappointing moment for the actress, who has enjoyed rather consistent Hollywood success following her breakout supporting role in The Devil Wears Prada. At the time, she was contracted to do the film Gulliver's Travels, which she did not want to do. "It was a bit of a heartbreaker for me," Blunt told Stern. 

There have been numerous famous actresses linked to the beloved Rose character from Titanic, that Kate Winslet brilliantly brought to life. Gwyneth Paltrow might be the most notable, but think about how different Danes' career would have gone had she accepted a role of this magnitude. Appearing on Dax Shephard's Armchair Expert in 2020, as reported by Vanity Fair, Danes said there was "strong interest" in her playing the part. And, she seemed excited about reuniting on-screen with Leonardo DiCaprio, with who she filmed Romeo + Juliet. However, the three-time Emmy Award winner apparently was not ready for the expected fame that was to come along with the success of the movie, and took herself out of the running.

The role of Cher Horowitz helped turn Alicia Silverstone into a 1990s star, and it's kind of tough to imagine anyone else better fit for the performance. However, according to US, Gellar was offered the part, but turned it down due to an apparent scheduling conflict with her job on All My Children at the time. Though there's no telling if Gellar would have enjoyed the same level of success from the role as Silverstone did, she ended up taking ownership of another iconic character as the lead for the television series version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Of late, a lot of what Mel Gibson says doesn't make sense, causes controversy or just should be kept to himself. However, there was at least one time during his professional career that Gibson had a point, and made the right decision. According to the New York Times, Gibson turned down the lead role in Gladiator, which won Russell Crowe an Oscar from the epic 2000 Ridley Scott film, because he was too old and could not handle the physical demands that were associated with playing the part. Bravo, Mel. Bravo!

As we've noted, sometimes contractual obligations can keep an actor or actress from taking a marquee role. While Jordan has made a living with the Creed franchise of films, plus his involvement in the Black Panther movie world, he was slated to play Dr. Dre in the highly acclaimed 2015 film about the rise and fall of gangsta-rap pioneers N.W.A. However, according to various publications, Jordan had a contract to star in the Fantastic Four (2015), which proved to be a commercial and critical failure. On the flip side, Corey Hawkins was lauded for his portrayal of Dre, in one of the best movies of the decade.

This is another one that gets a lot of traction. But, like others on this list, McAdams has done pretty well for herself (earning an Academy Award nomination for a supporting role in Spotlight and memorably playing Regina George in Mean Girls) in Hollywood. Still, it's interesting more than anything that, according to Entertainment Weekly, McAdams was offered the role of fashion-challenged Andy three times. And, turned it down every time. "She was determined not to do it," the film's director David Frankel told EW.

Mortensen earned much acclaim for his role in The Lord of the Rings, but he also had a chance to star in another iconic film series. However, the latter proved to be partly why he turned down the role of Wolverine. According to Entertainment Weekly and the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Mortensen did not want to play Logan, aka "Wolverine," because he wasn't hip to committing to a series of movies. That, and Mortensen's son Henry felt that the script was "wrong." Obviously, the role went to Hugh Jackman, who certainly did the character justice.

Nicholson's career turned out just fine without having played this legendary cinematic character. A three-time Academy Award winner known for such great roles like Randle McMurphy (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), Garrett Breedlove (Terms of Endearment), Jack Torrance (The Shining), Col. Nathan Jessup (A Few Good Men) and Frank Costello (The Departed). Nicholson also knew when he was not right for a part. As is the case with The Godfather. Nicholson told Movieline in the early 2000s: "Back then I believed that Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians. Mario Puzo had written such a great book that if you go back to it you'll see so much of what was special about the movie...Al Pacino was Michael Corleone. I can't think of a better compliment to pay him."

Apparently it was morals that kept Pfeiffer from taking this renowned role that only added to Jodie Foster's legacy as one of the best actors on the planet. While speaking with The New Yorker in 2021, Pfeiffer, who has traditionally not enjoyed doing interviews, spoke about passing on what one would consider a career-defining role like this one. The three-time Oscar nominee stated about Silence of the Lambs: "I was trepidatious. There was such evil in that film...It was that evil won in the end, that at the end of that film evil ruled out. I was uncomfortable with that ending."

During the 1980s, Ringwald (Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink ) was the "It" girl when it came to those teen romantic comedies. So it made sense she was given the script for this 1990 classic that essentially turned Julia Roberts into a household, leading-lady name. According to People and The Guardian, Ringwald wasn't enamored with the script of an early version of the film, and opted not to pursue it, saying: "The script was okay, but I gotta say, Julia Roberts is what makes that movie. It was her part." Ringwald also does not regret the decision, even though she was never able to build on her movie success during the '80s going forward.

We noted that Molly Ringwald didn't feel right about Roberts' famed Pretty Woman role, but Julia also turned down her share of parts that might not make sense to casual movie fans. One being the female lead in Sleepless in Seattle, which famously went to Meg Ryan, who shined alongside Tom Hanks in the sentimental rom-com favorite. Roberts had already done that memorable type of role, in a similar genre of film, with Pretty Woman, and apparently just wanted to go a different direction with her career as the 1990s went on. She told InStyle, as reported by ABC News: "I’d been offered Sleepless in Seattle, but couldn’t do it," she said. "[Meg Ryan] and Tom Hanks are just such a jewel of a fit in that. I guess what they did for that moment in time is sort of what Richard [Gere] and I were doing across town, you know?"

For years, this was the one role that had movie fans consistently clamoring, "what if..." According to legend, and Selleck's interview with BUILD, as reported by Wide Open Country, George Lucas did not want to cast Harrison Ford, who played Han Solo for him in the original Star Wars release, for the first Indiana Jones' movie, but rather a fresh face. Selleck was offered the gig, but had just taped the pilot for Magnum P.I. However, CBS wouldn't let Selleck out of his Magnum deal, and Ford earned another iconic role. Meanwhile, Selleck, a famed actor in his own right, noted: "Harrison Ford hates to hear this. Harrison, this is your role, and you're indelible in it; it's just an interesting story. I signed a deal for Magnum, and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I'm proud that I lived up to my contract."

Looking back on things, Seyfried's initial expectations for the Guardians of the Galaxy was severely misread. While interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, and reported by People, Seyfried turned down the role of Gamora (which Zoe Saldana rightfully took) because: "I didn't want to be part of the first Marvel movie that bombed...I said, 'Who wants to see a movie about a talking tree and a raccoon?' Which is clearly – I was very wrong." Hey, it happens, but Seyfried is a Golden Globe Award winner and Oscar nominee.

Another role that attracted some of Hollywood's biggest names. Among the elite in the running for Keanu Reaves' famed role, reportedly, was Smith. He told Wired in the early 2000s: "I watched Keanu's performance — and very rarely do I say this — but I would have messed it up. I would have absolutely messed up The Matrix. At that point I wasn't smart enough as an actor to let the movie be." In an interesting side note, as fans of The Matrix film series know, Smith's wife Jada Pinkett co-starred in the The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both from 2003, and 2021's The Matrix Resurrections.

No offense to Travolta, whose acting career was resurrected with 1994's Pulp Fiction, but can we see anybody else other than Tom Hanks playing one of the most iconic and beloved fictional character? Sure, Travolta has long claimed, to anyone or any publication who will listen, that he certainly regrets passing on the role of Forrest Gump, which was also released in 1994. But, we just can't see him as delivering the emotion and humor the same way Hanks did. In the end, Travolta is still a star who has had a career most would die for. 

From one Emma, reportedly, to another. According to ITV's Lorraine, as reported by NME, it was a matter of poor timing that kept Watson from accepting the prime role that won Emma Stone an Oscar for the popular 2016 movie. Watson had a scheduling conflict due to her appearance in the live-action take on Beauty and the Beast. 

While Willis did play a ghost, sort of, in The Sixth Sense (1999), years earlier, he passed on the chance to portray a spirit in the wildly popular film Ghost. In which, he would have played opposite his then-wife Demi Moore. Willis told the The New York Times, as reported by Far Out: "I just didn’t get it. I said, ‘Hey, the guy’s dead. How are you gonna have a romance?’ Famous last words." Willis also referred to himself as a "knucklehead," for passing on a role that went to Patrick Swayze, whose status as a Hollywood superstar only rose greater.