12 Celebrities Who Were Offered a Win-Win Role but They Turned It Down

Celebrities don’t always agree when they get an offer to play a role from directors and producers. The reasons for this are different: some are afraid that viewers will find the movie boring, others don’t trust young directors and simply don’t see themselves in this role. For example, Charlize Theron didn’t want to play the mother of the main character in Wonder Woman because she considers herself too young for this role.

We at Bright Side found out which celebrities decided to show their stubbornness and refused to become a part of movies that became hits in the cinema world.

Hannibal Lecter: Sean Connery — Anthony Hopkins

Director Jonathan Demme wanted Lecter to be played by Sean Connery but the famous actor turned the offer down. Later the role was offered to Anthony Hopkins. At first, the actor thought that he was being asked to play in some kids’ movie. But when Hopkins read the first 10 pages of the script, he accepted the director’s offer right away. Eventually, Hopkins’ intuition turned out to be right — he was nominated for Best Actor and got his first Oscar.

Clarice Starling: Meg Ryan — Jodie Foster

Meg Ryan also missed a chance to get an Oscar when she turned down the chance to play Miss Starling. The actress didn’t like the gloomy and harsh plot. Eventually, the role went to Jodie Foster who had read the novel and had an immense wish to try Clarice’s image on herself.

Allie Hamilton: Jessica Simpson — Rachel McAdams

Jessica Simpson is more famous as a singer. She missed her chance to become famous as an actress when she rejected the proposal to play in The Notebook. Simpson was against the revealing scenes. Rachel McAdams, in her turn, wasn’t embarrassed about it and eventually became the on-screen passion of Ryan Gosling.

Queen Hippolyta: Charlize Theron — Connie Nielsen

When Charlize Theron was offered the chance to play the role of Wonder Woman’s mother, she got extremely upset. The famous actress called this proposal a slap in the face and rejected it. We do understand her feelings because Gal Gadot is only 9 years younger than Charlize, and they definitely don’t look like a mother and a daughter. Then producer, Zack Snyder, then offered this role to the Dutch model and actress Connie Nielsen who is 20 years older than Gadot.

Kitty Shcherbatskaya: Saoirse Ronan — Alicia Vikander

Saoirse Ronan turned down the role of Kitty because she didn’t want to sacrifice her filming in the movies Byzantium and The Host. In these projects, Ronan played the main characters that’s why it was eventually Alicia Vikander who got the supporting role in Anna Karenina.

Annie Wilkes: Anjelica Huston — Kathy Bates

Huston, who is more well-known for her role as Morticia Addams, was supposed to play the main villain in the screen version of Stephen King’s novel in 1990. But Anjelica preferred focusing on filming in The Grifters movie and the role was given to the little-known Kathy Bates. The actress played the role of the insane fan perfectly and got both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for it.

Jacqueline Kennedy: Rachel Weisz — Natalie Portman

The movie about JFK’s wife had been on the production stage for a long time. Initially, it was supposed to be the joint project of director Darren Aronofsky and his fiancée Rachel Weisz. But the couple broke up, that’s why Weisz stopped the filming. It wasn’t until 2 years later that the studio started their negotiations with Natalie Portman.

Andy Dufresne: Tom Cruise — Tim Robbins

Today it’s hard to imagine someone else, apart from Tim Robbins, playing the role of the innocent and cheerful Andy Dufresne. But this role was offered to many famous actors including Tom Cruise. However, the action genre star didn’t want to work with a little-known newbie director so he turned the offer down.

Christine Palmer: Jessica Chastain — Rachel McAdams

Jessica Chastain decided not to play the role of Benedict Cumberbatch’s beloved woman in Doctor Strange. According to the movie’s scriptwriter, Chastain made this decision because she hasn’t lost her hope to play the superheroine in the Marvel universe.

Elizabeth I: Emily Watson — Cate Blanchett

The role of the queen was initially offered to Emily Watson but the actress rejected the proposal and didn’t have a single regret about it. Watson confessed that she would never have played the role as well as Blanchett, who got a Golden Globe for this work.

Bridget von Hammersmark: Nastassja Kinski — Diane Kruger

Quentin Tarantino wanted the German cinematography star and British spy to be played by Nastassja Kinski. The famous director even went to Germany to meet the actress but he failed to get a positive response from her. Then Tarantino’s choice went to the charming Diane Kruger, who gladly agreed to become a part of Inglourious Basterds.

Gamora: Amanda Seyfried — Zoe Saldana

Amanda Seyfried “didn’t want to be part of the first Marvel movie that bombed.” The actress sincerely didn’t understand who might be interested in watching a movie about a talking tree and a raccoon. Moreover, Seyfried was afraid that Hollywood wouldn’t forgive her failure and decided to not risk her career. Eventually, the role went to Zoe Saldana who wasn’t at all scared and hit the jackpot.

Do you think that if these actors had agreed to play the aforementioned roles, would they have done it better?

In a recent poll by Showcase Cinemas, Tom Cruise was crowned “the most attractive actor of all time” by 2,000 mothers worldwide in 2022. This accolade comes after the release of “Top Gun: Maverick,” reigniting the actor’s appeal reminiscent of his earlier roles in films like “Top Gun” and “Cocktail.” Cruise, at 60, topped the list, proving that his allure transcends generations.