Five Actors That Turned Down Roles That Became Huge Successes

You might get the feeling that some actors have face-palmed themselves a couple of times in their career at the very least for turning down roles that would eventually become huge hits on the big screen. This could be true, but it could be that they weren’t the right people for the role that they were being considered for, to begin with. Still, one can’t help but wonder what might have been different in many movies ha the cast been just different enough that people might have reacted differently in regards to who was on set and how they tended to react to certain situations and other characters around them. Looking back at this moment it’s a little too easy to state that those that took on the roles were right for them, especially since without seeing those that might have taken the roles if it had been enticing enough. But we’re left wondering what could have been instead of being able to see into those alternate realities, so it is what it is.

Here are a few actors that turned down role in big movies that would eventually become huge hits.

5. Gwyneth Paltrow turned down three major roles in Gangs of New York, Titanic, and Resident Evil.

You should be able to guess which roles Paltrow was being groomed for in each of these movies since each one had a very distinct female lead and it was more likely than not that Gwyneth would have been socked into said roles. But for one reason or another, she said no to each one of them, which is probably for the better since Gangs of New York might have been the only believable role she could have taken on, and as a lot of people already know, her attempt at an accent is simply atrocious, enough so that having her speak English in her own voice is highly preferable. As far as Titanic and Resident Evil go, it’s probably best that she stayed away.

4. Sean Connery turned down a role in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Matrix.

It’s hard to see just where he might have fit in when it comes to LOTR, but thinking that he could have been the Architect in The Matrix is about the only spot that makes sense. But this is why he didn’t say yes to either of them, since the scripts didn’t make sense to him. Obviously, once he saw the success that had been enjoyed by the movies he was well aware of the mistake he’d made. But joining up with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was definitely one movie he should have avoided like the plague, since not only did the movie fail to really grab at the fan base, it was kind of a joke that was made using some of the most popular legends from class literature.

3. Val Kilmer turned down the lead role in Backdraft.

Can you see him taking on the role of William Baldwin or Kurt Russell? Maybe back in his younger days, but definitely not now. In his heyday, Kilmer was a great actor and he was in high demand, but refusing this movie could have been seen as a good or a bad thing really. Let’s face it, he might have been able to replace Baldwin, who had the acting ability of wet paint when it came to this movie, but there’s no way he could have replaced Russell since Kurt is one of those that’s hard to match, let alone replace. But seeing them both on the big screen at the same time would have been kind of nice.

2. Harrison Ford turned down a role in Alien.

The role of Dallas would have been about the only place that Harrison would have fit into this movie, as turning him into anyone else would have been a waste of talent. But seeing as how Dallas wound up getting taken by the xenomorph it’s fair to say that it would have been waste of his talent anyway. In any case, Harrison turned it down to go and work on other ventures, but one has to wonder if he ever regrets saying no to this one. It almost feels as though he walked away from it and merely shrugged when it ended up becoming a well-known franchise. He had plenty of other stuff going for him once the 80s arrived after all.

1. Brooke Shields was forced to turn down the role of Elvira in Scarface.

At the risk of offending Brooke, this feels like something that happened the way it should have since the issues she had with her mother as her manager were horrible in a way, but they did keep her away from this movie. Michelle Pfieffer nailed this role to be perfectly honest and had anyone else taken it the feeling is that the role of Elvira wouldn’t have been quite as serious and could have been a low point in the movie. This happened just as it needed to.

Sometimes it’s a goof when actors say no, and sometimes it’s what’s meant to be.