9 Actors That Could’ve Lost Their Roles for Ridiculous Reasons

It’s incredibly hard to imagine Pirates of the Caribbean without Johnny Depp or Titanic without Leonardo DiCaprio — without them, these movies would’ve definitely lost their charm. As it turns out, some famous movies around the world could’ve lost actors that played iconic roles due to some ridiculous accidents that happened behind the scenes.

We at Bright Side have found 9 funny stories from the lives of actors that could’ve made popular movies and films look completely different.

Sophie Turner — the role of Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones

Around 10 years ago, the young actress, Sophie Turner, almost lost her famous role as Sansa Stark in the iconic Game of Thrones. At the time, she was only 13 years old and she attended a drama class where the head of the studio noticed that she was quite talented. They organized an audition for the future star but Sophie didn’t show up at the agreed time. So the head of the class found the forgetful star and took her to the audition.

Johnny Depp — the role of Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean would have definitely not been as good without the charismatic Jack Sparrow portrayed by Johnny Depp. Throughout the production, however, casting Depp was considered risky, because he wasn’t considered a bankable enough star for the role. Originally, Disney CEO Michael Eisner himself didn’t like Depp’s performance and tried to shut down the project, but later changed his mind after visiting the set.

Arnold Schwarzenegger — the lead in Terminator

The brutal Terminator who hunted Sarah J. Connor in the first part of the famous franchise didn’t actually want to play an evil character. According to Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, he was worried that the role of a bad guy would create problems for his future career which is why he always chose to play good guys — this way, viewers would love him more. But director James Cameron convinced Schwarzenegger that in the future, he would change the direction of the robot’s story. And we saw it all play out on the big screen.

Robert Pattinson — the role of Edward Cullen in Twilight

The handsome Robert Pattinson could’ve lost the part of the charming vampire in Twilight because he couldn’t smile. Even the author of the bestselling book, Stephenie Meyer, gave him copies of her books to convince him that Edward does smile throughout the story. In reality, Pattinson was just really worried about how serious the part was.

Rachel McAdams — the role of Allie in The Notebook

In The Notebook, one of the most romantic films in the history of cinema, Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling appear to be the perfect couple. But few people know that Gosling was quite hostile toward his costar and even asked producers to fire her because he thought she was so unprofessional. But fortunately for us, the hostility between the actors disappeared and the romantic feelings between the characters took over the actors.

Leonardo DiCaprio — the role of Jack Dawson in Titanic

You’d probably agree with the fact that Jack in Titanic was a key role in actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s career. But few people know that the studio had another actor in mind: Matthew McConaughey. In an interview, DiCaprio’s co-star Kate Winslet revealed that she actually ended up auditioning with McConaughey.

Taylor Lautner — the role of Jacob in The Twilight Saga: New Moon

The role of the werewolf, Jacob, could’ve easily been played by someone else if Taylor Lautner hadn’t decided to visit the gym more often. That’s because the producers of The Twilight Saga: New Moon didn’t think that Lautner wasn’t muscular enough to portray the character the author of the book had described. They wanted to replace the actor. But some hard work did the trick: Lautner became the Jacob we all know today.

Al Pacino — the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather

It’s hard to say if The Godfather would’ve been as good without Al Pacino in it. In fact, it’s hard to imagine anyone else but him in this difficult role. However, Paramount executives had a different opinion about this: they wanted to remove Al Pacino from the project! But even problems during production and constant doubts about the professionalism of the actor didn’t stop this film from becoming a legendary piece of cinema.

Tom Hanks — the role of Josh Baskin in Big

The main character of the fan-favorite film, Big, could have been played by someone else due to Tom Hanks getting lost in his own work schedule. The story of a teenager that turned into an adult man overnight could have been told by Robert De Niro. And who knows how things would’ve worked out if Tom Hanks hadn’t decided to spend some time on this amazing project.

Which of these roles do you like the most and why?

Leonardo DiCaprio’s journey to stardom was not without its challenges. Early in his career, he was deemed “too disruptive” and was fired from the children’s TV show “Romper Room.” Despite facing numerous rejections, DiCaprio’s determination led him to become one of the most sought-after actors. His resilience and humility, even after achieving immense success, serve as an inspiration to many.