15+ Actors That Made Us Wonder, “Were They Really Going to Appear in That Film?”

Characters become iconic often because of the actors that portrayed them. This is why it’s so hard to imagine someone else playing our favorite characters. At the same time, even famous actors come to castings and fail them, so the roles go to someone else. Or, they might even do a great job but still not get the part. It’s a hard job.

We at Bright Side have a good imagination, but it’s still too hard to imagine Tom Cruise playing Cliff Booth. Especially for you, we found out which other actors could have gotten famous parts.

Iwan Rheon auditioned for the roles of Viserys and Jon Snow in Game of Thrones.

In the beginning, Iwan Rheon auditioned for the part of Viserys, but a different actor got the role. Later, he was asked to return to audition for the role of Jon Snow but, as you know, Kit Harington got it. But the producers liked Iwan Rheon and they didn’t want to lose him. Fortunately, there were a lot of roles in Game of Thrones so when they were looking for someone to portray Ramsay Bolton, they instantly offered the part to Iwan. Iwan says, “Yes, everything could have been different. But I think they made the right choice. With me, it would have been a totally different Jon Snow.”

Emily Blunt turned down the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2

Today, it’s really hard to imagine anyone else in the role of Natasha Romanoff except Scarlett Johansson, but Marvel Studios was considering a lot of different actresses. According to Emily, the only thing that stopped her from wearing a dark leather costume was her busy schedule and her work on Jack Black’s Gulliver’s Travels. Later, the actress said that she was even happy she didn’t get to play Natasha, “Usually the female parts in a superhero film feel thankless: She’s the pill girlfriend while the guys are whizzing around saving the world.”

Katie Holmes was almost Annette Hargrove in Cruel Intentions.

The studio wanted Katie Holmes, the star of Dawson’s Creek. But scriptwriter Roger Kumble decided that he needed someone with a stronger personality. He saw Ryan Phillippe’s girlfriend once (Reese Witherspoon) and asked him to invite her for dinner.

At the dinner, Roger literally kneeled down before the young actress. He remembers saying, “Please, it’ll be 15 days, you’ll be great.” And Reese was like, “I’ll do it. But we need to work on the character.” Roger was like, “Anything, anything, anything. She wanted to strengthen the character, and she was right. And she and I got together, and we gave Annette more bite, so she wasn’t a doormat. And I’m very grateful to her for that.”

Tom Cruise lost the part of Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.

Quentin Tarantino wanted Cliff Booth to be Tom Cruise. The actor even met the director and they discussed the part. But Tom was busy with other projects so he couldn’t accept the offer. Now, it’s hard to imagine anyone but Brad Pitt in this role — he even won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. And the Pitt — DiCaprio duo was absolutely amazing. As Tarantino said, “It’s like lassoing a couple of wild stallions.” They are such terrific actors and such great movie stars!

Nathan Fillion auditioned for the part of Angel in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Nathan Fillion, who you might know from Castle and Firefly, wanted to portray Angel in the iconic series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Fillion said, "You understand your job as an actor is to audition. Your job is to go out there and look for work... When Joss found out that I auditioned for Angel — he didn’t know — he felt bad. He said, “I don’t remember you.” I told him not to worry, I never made the first cut... And when Firefly was canceled, he said, “Come and do the last 5 episodes of Buffy for me.”

Cameron Diaz could have played Sonya Blade in Mortal Kombat.

Cameron Diaz was already preparing for the role of Sonya, but she broke her wrist during the preparation for the fight scenes and couldn’t continue working on the film. Then, the producers noticed Bridgette Wilson who was in Adam Sandler’s Billy Madison. Bridgette remembers, “Then on my last day of filming on Billy Madison, they called me up and asked, ‘Will you do it if we fly you out the next morning?’ and I said ‘Yeah!’ I was so happy both worked out.”

Tilda Swinton as Sybill Trelawney in the Harry Potter series

Tilda Swinton turned down the role of Sybill Trelawney in the Harry Potter films for a simple reason: Boarding schools were something she really disliked. She once explained in an interview, “That’s why I dislike films like Harry Potter, which tend to romanticize these places. I think they are a very cruel setting in which to grow up and I don’t feel children benefit from that type of education. Children need their parents and love.”

Keanu Reeves dreamt about the role of Wolverine.

When Keanu Reeves was asked about the roles he would like to play, he said he’d love to portray Wolverine, but he knows that he missed his chance because Hugh Jackman was so good. And we just can’t understand why Keanu Reeves is still not in the Marvel or DC universe.

Shailene Woodley as Rey in Star Wars

The director had a shortlist of candidates for the part. Some of the actresses considered included Jennifer Lawrence, Shailene Woodley, Elizabeth Olsen, Felicity Jones, Jessica Henwick, and Billie Lourd, the daughter of Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the original film. In the end, Lucasfilm decided to hire some not-so-famous actors for the main roles. This is how the stunning Daisy Ridley got to play Rey.

Harrison Ford turned down the part of Alan Grant in Jurassic Park.

Director Steven Spielberg and actor Harrison Ford worked together on the Indiana Jones franchise, but when Spielberg offered Ford the role of Alan Grant, he turned it down. So, Sam Neill portrayed Grant perfectly. And there’s even a poster where Ford is running away from a dinosaur. The actor himself didn’t comment on the situation so we can only guess — maybe he thought the part was too similar to Indiana Jones?

Josh Hutcherson as Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man. The Movie

Before the actor became popular as Peeta from Hunger Games, he was one of the first candidates for the role in The Amazing Spider-Man. The Movie. There are even some videos from his audition. But in the end, the spider suit went to Andrew Garfield. Josh Hutcherson says, “Yeah, of course, I’d think about doing it: It’s Spider-Man, that’d be really cool.”

Eddie Redmayne wanted to be Kylo Ren in Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens.

The charming English actor that portrayed Newt Scamander wanted to be the son of Han Solo and Leia Organa. He remembers that it was a very bad audition for him, “And she was just sitting there and I was trying again and again with different versions of my kind of ‘koohh paaaah’ [Darth Vader breathing sound] voice. And after like 10 shots the casting director is like, ‘You got anything else?’ I was like, ‘No.’” He also failed the audition for the main role in The Hobbit. But maybe it’s for the best because he had more time for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Courtney Love as Satine in Moulin Rouge!

The outstanding Courtney Love wanted to get the part of Satine. Even though Courtney is great at what she does, it is hard to imagine her in this role, so we can only imagine what the film would be like if the producers hadn’t chosen Nicole Kidman.

Tom Hiddleston as Thor

The smiley British man actually tried to get the main part. He worked out and put on some weight, but the producers said, “Actually, you should play the bad guy.” This is how Tom became the charming, yet evil brother of Thor.

Josh Hartnett as Loki in Thor

Josh Hartnett was really interested in this character and even met the director to talk about the part but Tom Hiddleston got it. It is so hard to imagine anyone else but Tom in the role of the cunning brother of Thor, right?

Cara Delevingne as Alice in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

The main part in Tim Burton’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was played by Mia Wasikowska, but supermodel and actress Cara Delevingne could have gotten it. She said that she did a bit too much in the casting, “My interpretation of Alice was a little crazy. I overplayed it — the way a young girl would overplay all her emotions.” She was very upset when she found that someone else got the part, “It was a hard lesson, but it sort of propelled me toward what I’m doing it now; it was the precursor motivation.”

Robin Williams always wanted the role of Joker.

Robin really wanted to be in the Batman franchise. First, he took part in the casting for Tim Burton’s Batman, auditioning for the role of the Joker, but Jack Nicholson got the part. Then, he had a chance to get the part in Batman Forever, this time playing the Riddler, but he didn’t get it again. When Robin found out that Christopher Nolan was looking for someone to portray Joker, he said, “Chris, call me, I’ll do anything. I could be a great character — or some weird little man in the background in Arkham Asylum.” But unfortunately, he never got to play any of the Batman characters.

Lucy Lawless could have become Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings.

The amazing Cate Blanchett could have been replaced by Xena from Xena: Warrior Princess because she was originally offered the part. But the actress turned it down because of a very busy schedule. Later, Lucy said, “It would have been great if I was part of this success but truthfully, it did break my heart not being able to be a part of the film.”

Which of these actors do you think would have done a great job in the roles they wanted?

Following her powerful speech at the Latin Women in Music gala, Shakira was seen with Tom Cruise at the 2023 Miami Formula One Grand Prix. Their interaction, filled with laughter and camaraderie, has fueled speculations of a budding relationship. Sources close to the situation hint at a palpable chemistry between the two, with Cruise reportedly showing keen interest in the singer. Shakira’s recent separation from Gerard Piqué and her empowering stance on self-love and authenticity have garnered immense admiration, making her interactions with Cruise all the more intriguing.