15 Actors and Actresses That Had a Chance to Play Iconic Roles, but Fate Decided Otherwise

Many actors are so strongly connected to their famous characters that it’s hard to imagine anyone else in their roles. For example, Alien would have been a very different movie with Meryl Streep in it instead of Sigourney Weaver. Not all actors reject roles because they don’t want to take part in a project. And some movies would have probably not been as successful if they had been released with the originally intended cast.

Ellen Ripley in Alien.

Originally, the script of Alien was written, so that the main character could be a man or a woman. Director Ridley Scott decided to have a strong female character, so he was looking for the right actress to fight a space monster.

He hoped to get Meryl Streep to work with him, and he was writing Ellen Ripley with her in mind. Unfortunately, Streep was dealing with some personal things at the time, and couldn’t take part in the film. So, Sigourney Weaver got the part.

T-800 in The Terminator.

Several actors auditioned to play the merciless cyborg. The possible candidates were Michael Douglas, Mel Gibson, Chevy Chase. Cameron himself hoped to film Lance Henriksen, because T-800 was supposed to have a simple appearance. There are rumors that Henriksen scared the producers because, during the meeting, he was silently looking at them for a very long time. So, Tom Selleck got the part, and he was a big star at the time. But due to schedule problems, he rejected the role, and Arnold Schwarzenegger got it.

Grace Stamper in Armageddon.

Neve Campbell was going to get the role in Armageddon. She was a star at the time, thanks to popular teenage series and the movie Scream. But Neve had to reject the role because she was busy with Party Of Five. As a result, Liv Tyler got the role, even though she didn’t want it at the beginning.

Peter Venkman in Ghostbusters.

The role of the sarcastic and cynical leader of Ghostbusters was supposed to go to John Belushi. But he passed away, so the producers had to look for someone else. They invited Michael Keaton, but he refused. Bull Murray was also hard to lure into the project. There are rumors that the movie company even invested money into his project The Razor’s Edge to convince him to take the part.

Leeloo in The Fifth Element.

The work on The Fifth Element was supposed to start in 1992, but due to financial problems, the project was postponed. It affected the casting. When Luc Besson was planning the film, he wanted Julia Roberts and Mel Gibson to play the lead parts. It’s not known whether Roberts was actually offered the role, but Gibson turned it down and chose a different project.

Bruce Wayne in The Batman.

Usually, casting for superheroes takes a lot of time to choose the right actor out of a lot of candidates. But in The Batman, the director had a very clear vision, so there were only 2 candidates: Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult. Both of them were great, and the producers took a week to discuss and decide who would be Bruce Wayne. Pattinson got it.

Diana Prince in Wonder Woman.

When the producers were looking for an actress to play Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, they originally chose Olga Kurylenko. She really wanted to play Diana but was worried that Ben Affleck wouldn’t approve. They were already together in To the Wonder, and she thought he might want to be in tandem with someone else. It’s not known whether Kurylenko was right, but the role went to Gal Gadot.

Peter Parker in Spider-Man.

A lot of young actors auditioned for the role of Peter Parker. One of the candidates that were seriously considered together with Holland was Charlie Rowe. But the producers chose Tom. Rowe was disappointed but he wished Holland all the best and said he himself wouldn’t be as good in this role.

Ryan Stone in Gravity.

The main role in Alfonso Cuarón’s film was originally offered to Marion Cotillard but she turned it down. She thought that Inception and Les petits mouchoirs were more interesting projects. So, Sandra Bullock agreed to take the role and won a lot of awards and nominations for it.

Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders.

The showrunner Steven Knight was seriously considering Jason Statham for the main role in his series. And Cillian Murphy was fighting tooth and nail to get it, even though he didn’t look as convincing. Murphy tried to convince Knight that he was the perfect candidate and the showrunner agreed.

Amy Elliott Dunne in Gone Girl.

Reese Witherspoon had dreamed of playing Amy Elliott Dunne for many years. She even decided to be the producer of the film, and her company Pacific Standard bought the rights to the novel adaptation. Reese was sure she would play the main role. But the director David Fincher talked her out of it. He convinced her that she wasn’t the right person for this role, so it went to Rosamund Pike.

Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad.

When the producers started to develop Breaking Bad, they wanted to get a lot of famous actors into it. So, they were going to hire Colin Hanks for the role of Jesse Pinkman. He had already taken part in several big projects. And Aaron Paul looked too cute. But the showrunner Vince Gilligan said he would quit the project if Aaron wouldn’t get the role.

Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci.

Director Ridley Scott started to develop House of Gucci back in 2007. At the time, Lady Gaga wasn’t as famous, and her debut single was only going to be released. There were rumors that Angelina Jolie would get this role, but Scott refused to work with her. In the following years, these actresses were considered: Anne Hathaway, Penélope Cruz, Margot Robbie, and Natalie Portman. But the role of Patrizia went to Lady Gaga.

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun.

The career of actor Matthew Modine was taking off in the 80s. The role of fearless pilot Pete Mitchell could have made him incredibly famous. But Modine turned it down because the plot was against his pacific views. It was a risky move, but he agreed to play in Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket. And Tom Cruise got the part in Top Gun.

George Kirk in Star Trek.

In 2006, the reboot of Star Trek was announced. At the time, there were rumors that Matt Damon would play the famous captain James Kirk. It turned out that he was invited to the project, but for a smaller role, the father of the main character. As director J. J. Abrams remembers, Damon refused in a very polite fashion, giving good reasons. So, Chris Hemsworth got the role of Kirk, and it was a breakthrough role for him.

What film would you like to watch with a different cast?