12 Actors Who Had to be Convinced to Accept the Role of a Lifetime
Great actors get scripts all the time, and it’s not uncommon for them to turn down a lot of them. Even for stars, it can be hard to imagine how successful certain films will be with the public. There are times when they regret their choices, but sometimes someone encourages them and they end up accepting roles that will change their lives.
1. Mark Ruffalo as Hulk in The Avengers
During an interview, Mark Ruffalo confirmed that he almost turned down the role of the Hulk because he felt there was nothing new he could bring to the character. However, director Joss Whedon told him he truly believed he was the perfect actor for the character. Also, his colleague, Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), encouraged him to accept so they could work together.
Ruffalo got the director to hand him a few pages of the script, and after reading them, he was convinced.
2. Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in Hunger Games
Jennifer wasn’t sure she wanted to accept a role in a huge franchise, but eventually, it was her mother who convinced her.
Lawrence didn’t care if the movies were big, she just looked at the character and the story, and if she liked them, she played them. But her mother pointed out that in this case she did like the story, so there was no reason to turn down the role.
3. Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack in Titanic
After shooting Romeo and Juliet, DiCaprio told Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) that he had been offered the role of Jack in Titanic. Rudd’s father was an expert on the Titanic, and the actor told him that the true story was incredible. Leo wasn’t too sure about accepting the role, but Rudd convinced him, saying, “You should do it.”
4. Christian Bale as Batman in Batman Begins
Christian Bale had just finished filming The Machinist, where he took on a dramatic role for which he had to lose a lot of weight. That’s why, when he was offered the role of Batman, Bale didn’t even want to listen to the proposal. But it was the director himself, Christopher Nolan, who personally went to convince Bale.
5. Winona Ryder as Joyce Byers in Stranger Things
It is difficult to imagine now what this beloved series would look like without Winona Ryder. The creators of Stranger Things were not sure that the actress will accept their proposal, because at that time Winona was not acting a lot. The Duffer brothers convinced Winona Ryder to take a role in Stranger Things by sending her a fake trailer and some other documents. Afterwards they had long talk with the Ryder and finally she said, “Yes.”
6. Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones
When David Benioff, the producer and screenwriter of HBO’s Game of Thrones, approached Peter Dinklage to offer him the role of Tyrion, the actor hesitated. He didn’t want to play a character with a long beard and pointy shoes and fall into the stereotype of a little person.
Benioff assured Peter that it wasn’t the case in this series. His character was neither a hero nor a villain, he had his weaknesses as well as his strengths just like any other human being. As we know, Tyrion’s complexity ended up convincing Dinklage to take the role.
7. Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl
Penn Badgley nearly turned down one of his most memorable roles. In an interview, he said he was frustrated, had no money, and was depressed. But his parents and manager convinced him that the role of Dan was just what he needed. The actor turned it down, but the director couldn’t find anyone better to play him, and Badgley finally accepted.
8. Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill in Gangs of New York
Martin Scorsese was sure that Day-Lewis just had to play this role. Leonardo DiCaprio went to pick Daniel up at his house. They walked around New York for 10 minutes without saying a word, until Leo got up the courage to speak. Finally, they went out to dinner with Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) and between the 2 of them, they managed to convince him.
9. Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings
Viggo Mortensen had already turned down the role of Aragorn because he didn’t want to go through extensive filming far from home. However, his son saw the script on the kitchen table. He spoke passionately to him about the Lord of the Rings saga and finally convinced his father to accept the role.
10. Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun
To convince Tom Cruise to accept the role of Maverick in Top Gun producers took him to fly with experts at a facility in California. The pilots wanted to pull a prank on Cruise so they tried to give him an extreme flying experience, which they thought would scare him. But they didn’t know Cruise. As soon as the actor got off the plane, he called the producer to confirm that he would take the role.
11. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady
Meryl Streep did not want to play Thatcher because she did not like the character. However, the director convinced her that that was exactly why she should take the role: Meryl would then have the opportunity to portray Thatcher in whichever way she wanted. Streep thought it was a good opportunity to show how unpleasant she could be.
12. Chris Evans as Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger
It was Chris Evans’ mother who convinced the actor to accept the leading role in Captain America. Chris was afraid of becoming too famous, of not being able to go out and walk his dog without being bothered. But when he asked his mother for advice, she convinced him that this was his chance to work as an actor all his life and never worry about paying the rent again.
Bonus: Julia Roberts in Friends
When Matthew Perry (Chandler) approached Julia Roberts to ask her if she was interested in making an appearance on Friends, Julia jokingly replied, “Write me a paper on quantum physics and I’ll do it.” To her amazement, Matthew wrote it and faxed it to her the next day. At that point, Julia couldn’t say no.
What movie or series do you think would not have been successful without the actors that were in them?