9 Actors Who Almost Played Pivotal Characters in Famous Movies or TV Shows

As they say, hope springs eternal in the human breast. Including hearts of actors and actresses who’d love to take on the role of an iconic character in some movie or TV series. But sometimes, different circumstances change the odds, and their lives split into “before” and “after.”

1. Jeremy Sisto as Jack Dawson, Titanic

Jeremy Sisto is 48 years old today. And not many people know that he could’ve played the pivotal part in Titanic in 1997. Sisto reveals that he was insanely inspired by the movie and was a little heartbroken because he tried out for the role, but it was eventually given to DiCaprio. Anyway, it was exciting to be a part of the process, and it was an excellent experience for him.

2. Kurt Russell as Han Solo, Star Wars

Kurt Russell auditioned for the original Star Wars movie. He auditioned for the parts of Han Solo and Luke Skywalker back in the day. But there also was a western he could’ve taken part in, so he had to choose. And we all know the result.

3. Millie Bobby Brown as Lyanna Mormont, Game of Thrones

Millie Bobby Brown tried to audition for commercials for some time. And then she tried out for Game of Thrones but got rejected. She even nearly quit acting after that, thinking acting was really difficult for her. Thankfully, she finally got the role of Eleven in Stranger Things, and her career immediately skyrocketed.

4. Mahershala Ali as Xaro Xhoan Daxos, a merchant in Qarth, Game of Thrones

Mahershala Ali openly admitted that his audition pretty much guaranteed that he wasn’t on Game of Thrones. Actually, he says that it was one of the worst auditions of his life. He had memorized all of his lines and prepared well for all of the “power moves and stances.” But the backless stool he had to sit on threw him off. That’s when he learned he had to take a stool of his own to the next audition.

5. Jeremy Irons as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Silence of the Lambs

Irons turned down the role of Dr. Hannibal Lecter because of the dark plot and because there was so much violence in the film. And later, he was happy he did, even after seeing Hopkins winning an Oscar for the role. Maybe playing a creepy villain is really not for everyone.

6. Jared Harris auditioned to play the High Sparrow, Game of Thrones

Jared Harris auditioned for the role of the High Sparrow. But it eventually went to Jonathan Pryce. Harris was confused by this, saying he was losing parts “to the weirdest people.” At first, he got stuff that either Gary Oldman or Phillip Seymour Hoffman wasn’t interested in, then he auditioned for Westworld for Anthony Hopkins’s part. And now Game of Thrones — the strangest of them all.

7. Carey Mulligan as Lisbeth Salander, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Producers were reported to have looked at almost 5,000 possible candidates to play a famous bisexual computer hacker. They even considered auditioning Kristen Stewart and Natalie Portman. Mulligan also said she was obsessed with the books and would’ve loved to take the role. But it was given to another cute-looking actress — Rooney Mara.

8. Jude Law as Superman, Superman Returns

Jude Law wasn’t the first actor to turn down the Man of Steel part. He wasn’t sure about the idea. Besides, he thought that an Englishman shouldn’t play the American superhero. Eventually, he even was sent the costume to think about it all. He put it on and looked in the mirror. But unfortunately, that was it — that was enough for him.

9. Charlie Hunnam as Cameo, Game of Thrones

Hunnam told Sun Online he would love to do a Game of Thrones cameo. And they offered him a cameo on the show a little while ago, but he was forced to turn it down due to strict scheduling while shooting another movie. They say that Hunnam was offered the role of Daenerys Targaryen’s brother and Jon Snow’s real dad, Rhaegar Targaryen.

Could you imagine someone different portraying your favorite characters? What would the whole story look like if specific roles were given to other actors?