14 Celebrities Who Were Offered a Cult Role but Who Missed Their Chance

Occasionally, for some reason, celebrities turn down proposals to play in certain movies. A movie becomes a hit only after production, when a viewer sees it, and it’s not clear at the scriptwriting stage whether the flick will fail or not. However, sometimes celebrities just don’t like the script. For example, Macaulay Culkin was offered a part in The Big Bang Theory but the star of Home Alone said no because the actor didn’t like the idea of the series.

In his interview, Culkin confessed that he was aware he would be making $1 million per episode, but compromising himself for this part was not worth this money. And he is not the only example. Bright Side found other celebrities who missed their chance to play a part in hit movies.

Wonder Woman: Angelina Jolie — Gal Gadot

Today when we hear Wonder Woman, we instantly imagine Gal Gadot. However, when Joss Whedon was creating the character, he saw Angelina Jolie in the role of Diana. The creator of Buffy believed that Jolie perfectly matched the image of the goddess of the Amazons.

Harley Quinn: Amanda Seyfried — Margot Robbie

Amanda Seyfried was considered for the role of Harley Quinn before Margot Robbie. By that moment, Seyfried already was a popular actress and she was supposed to wear short shorts and ponytails, and cover herself with glitter.

Perhaps it’s because she had already turned down the role of Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy because she didn’t want to be sitting in a chair for hours while being painted green. That’s why the bold Harley Quinn was eventually played by Margot Robbie.

Star-Lord: Joseph Gordon-Levitt — Chris Pratt

Joseph Gordon-Levitt was one of the first candidates for the role of atypical superhero, Peter Quill. The actor who was in the drama 500 Days of Summer got famous for his boyish charisma. However, Gordon-Levitt turned down the role for the movie Sin City: A Dame to Kill. And eventually, Star-Lord was played by Chris Pratt.

Lolita: Natalie Portman — Dominique Swain

In 1997, young star Natalie Portman was offered the chance to play Lolita in the screen version of Nabokov’s novel. But she turned it down right away because she didn’t want to play this kind of role. It was Dominique Swain who replaced her in the flick and later Portman explained her decision in an interview.

Rogue: Kate Winslet — Anna Paquin

Anna Paquin, the star of the True Blood drama, played a mutant girl in the X-Men blockbuster, which was released in 2000. Today it’s hard to imagine someone else in this role, but in the beginning, the representatives of 20th Century Fox wanted to see an older actress play the part and invited Kate Winslet to take part in the flick. However, she refused.

Wolverine: Johnny Depp — Hugh Jackman

Johnny Depp is known for turning down many cult roles. For example, he refused to accept the role of the animal-like mutant in the X-Men blockbuster. At the same time, Hugh Jackman, who agreed to take part in the project, got a lucky ticket because he became famous and has continued playing Wolverine for almost 2 decades.

Here is an interesting coincidence: the image of Captain Jack Sparrow, which is basically Depp’s calling card, was initially created for Hugh Jackman (Jackman = Jack). But few people knew him outside of his motherland, Australia, and Disney studio decided to offer the role of the pirate to the more recognizable Depp.

Leonard: Macaulay Culkin — Johnny Galecki

Macaulay Culkin was offered the role of Leonard several times, but the actor kept turning down the offer because he didn’t like the idea of the series. Eventually, the role was given to Johnny Galecki. Culkin fully realizes how much money he lost by turning it down and claims he doesn’t have any regrets about it. By the way, the actors who play the main roles in the show earn about $1 million per episode.

Mitchie: Selena Gomez — Demi Lovato

Camp Rock is quite a popular youth comedy. It brought fame to actress and singer, Demi Lovato. First, the Disney studio offered this role to Selena Gomez, who could show off her vocal talents in the series, but she refused, saying that she didn’t have enough acting skills to do this job.

Napoleon Solo: Tom Cruise — Henry Cavill

Is there a person out there who doesn’t dream of being in a Guy Ritchie movie? Initially, the director saw George Clooney as the main character in the comedy action movie called The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and the actor agreed. But a back injury prevented him from playing the role and that’s when a big line of celebrities willing to take the role appeared. By the way, stars like Robert Pattinson, Matt Damon, and Christian Bale were among the candidates.

However, Guy Ritchie chose Tom Cruise for this role. But because he had first agreed to act in the Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation blockbuster, he later turned it down. That’s how the role was given to Henry Cavill.

Catherine Tramell: Michelle Pfeiffer — Sharon Stone

Michelle Pfeiffer, who was already a famous star by that time, turned down Paul Verhoeven’s offer to play in Basic Instinct. Before her, Kim Basinger also said no to this project. The casting for the actress to play the main role continued and eventually Sharon Stone agreed to take the role. As a result, the American actress became world-famous thanks to this one role!

Noah Calhoun: George Clooney — Ryan Gosling

Ryan Gosling has been involved in acting since a very young age, but it was his work in The Notebook that made him truly famous. However, initially, it was George Clooney who was supposed to play this role. The actor almost started to take part in the shooting but refused at the last moment.

Clooney confessed that he had already gotten used to the role of Noah. But he eventually passed on that role because of Hollywood veteran Paul Newman, who played Noah in his golden age. Clooney realized that he doesn’t resemble Newman at all.

Lydia Deetz: Sarah Jessica Parker — Winona Ryder

Today, Tim Burton’s name is a sort of brand. When people buy movie tickets to watch another masterpiece created by him, they pretty much know what to expect — something gothic, with the elements of a fairytale and dark sense of humor, but something that is very catching at the same time. Acting in Burton’s movie is almost a 100% success for any actor. But it wasn’t always like this.

Many actresses refused to play the role of Lydia in the fantasy movie called Beetlejuice. Sarah Jessica Parker was one of these actresses. Eventually, Juliette Lewis passed the audition, but then Tim Burton saw the young Winona Ryder playing in a teenage drama and passed the role on to her.

Django Unchained: Will Smith — Jamie Foxx

Will Smith had been working hard on the concept of Django Unchained together with Quentin Tarantino, but they parted because of their different understandings of the main idea. Smith said that he wanted to see the greatest story about love ever seen by Afro-Americans. Smith’s place was taken by Jamie Foxx and the movie ended up getting several Oscars.

Vivian: Michelle Pfeiffer— Julia Roberts

The main role in Pretty Woman was offered to many celebrities. Daryl Hannah, for example, said that this role would be humiliating for a woman. Michelle Pfeiffer, also turned down the offer to play this role. She told the director that she didn’t like “the script’s tone.” If Pfeiffer had agreed, then it’s likely that Vivian would’ve been a blonde.

At the same time, the young and comparatively barely-famous, Julia Roberts decided to try herself in this role. An obvious “chemistry” appeared between Richard Gere and Julia on their first meeting. Still, Gere didn’t want to take part in this movie and was already getting on the phone to relay this message, when Roberts slid him a note with the words “Please say yes.” And he agreed.

If we think about all these stories once again, we can come to the conclusion that sometimes it’s good when a mega-star turns down a role and the role gets passed on to an unknown actor. The viewer sees a fresh face on the screen, while the newbie actor gets a chance to become famous. Do you agree?

Angelina Jolie’s philanthropic efforts, from supporting refugees and fighting poverty to preserving nature, demonstrate her unwavering dedication to making a positive impact in the world. Her work extends beyond her personal life, inspiring her children and others to contribute to the betterment of society.