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5 Famous Actors and the Roles They Turned Down

mentalfloss.com — Sean Connery wasn ’t supposed to be James Bond. Keanu wasn’t supposed to be “the One.” So, who were the original choices? Here are 5 actors and the legendary roles they turned down.

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  • barcelona10, on 08/09/2008, -3/+35I think the worst one might be the first -- Carry Grant turned down Bond? ouch. It's probably better that he did- Sean was an awesome Bond.
    • damack, on 08/09/2008, -2/+6I'm glad Sean Connery got it too Carry Grant was one hell of an actor but Sean Connesery pulled off the kind of Bond that will probably never be topped.

      Bond was at his very pinnacle under Sean Connery.
      • dragon76, on 08/10/2008, -0/+4Daniel Craig is more like James Bond in the books. Connery was my favourite Bond until Craig, but I am waiting to see Quantum of Solace to see if I still think that.
      • skribeForti, on 08/10/2008, -0/+2Yes, Bond in the Fleming books is a bit of a bumbler at times, he makes mistakes and yet still wins through. I liked that aspect of Craig's Bond. Less superhero and more human. looking forward to TQoS.
    • zimmermans, on 08/10/2008, -0/+3Cary Grant didn't need to be James Bond. He was like 60 at the time anyways.
  • dezweber, on 08/09/2008, -1/+72I can't imagine Gandalf oozing all of that Connery machismo. Certainly glad for the status quo.
    • chukd, on 08/10/2008, -1/+5I can imagine him doing a James Bond on Liv Tyler's character.
  • DeskFlyer, on 08/09/2008, -21/+5I think Will Smith as Neo in The Matrix would have been ***** epic.
    • crazycarlmar, on 08/09/2008, -1/+13I think you mean ***** fresh.
    • fpaudon, on 08/09/2008, -0/+13"Now this is a story all about how / My life got flipped turned upside down" actually kind of fits with the themes in The Matrix
      • greeniemeani, on 08/09/2008, -6/+2And I liked to take a minute
        Just sit right there
        I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel Air
    • jordanlgta, on 08/09/2008, -2/+1I think you need to take your desk and fly away.
    • cygnus2112, on 08/09/2008, -0/+5I can't imagine the conversation in the casting director's room.

      "Damn, Will turned us down. Independence Day rocked, he would have been so perfect for the role...

      Hey, how about that little stoner kid from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure that keeps saying 'Whoaaaa' ?"
    • USER1236, on 08/10/2008, -2/+0I think Keanu did a great job in the first Matrix but I think Will Smith would have been better suited for the second and third installments, Keanu was just too stilted in those.
    • DimensionalPunk, on 08/10/2008, -0/+4Morpheus: The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.
      Neo: Oh heeellll naw.
  • EatingPie, on 08/09/2008, -8/+72Will Smith as Neo and Connery as Gandalf were both horrible choices anyway.

    But let's be honest on the "REGRETTABILITY METER." None of these actors are hurting for money at all! And all of them have had incredible film careers -- Michael Madsen actually has 25 films awaiting release or in pre/post production at this very moment on IMDB!

    I've seen longer versions of this list, and they're always very interesting to look at!

    -Pie
    • cygnus2112, on 08/09/2008, -0/+9No offense to Michael Madson, but all 25 probably suck too. He's had one or two decent roles (Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill) - the rest of his roles in over 140 movies have been really bad. Sucktastically bad. Gary Buce, Ray Liotta and Joe Mantegna bad.
    • LemonChicken, on 08/10/2008, -0/+3There really are some under-utilized actors working today. Maybe Tarantino is the only one who can direct Madsen.
  • willdelaney, on 08/09/2008, -9/+2Mike Rowe could have played all of these roles.

    Thats right I said it.
  • jordanlgta, on 08/09/2008, -3/+79Keanu was right for The Matrix, yes. I'm talking about the first film. No one was right for the other two, because I can't stand them.
    • LemonChicken, on 08/10/2008, -2/+12I can understand that, hell I can digg it, but there were some incredible sequences in the post-Tank Matrix universe. Chateau and Highway chase scene? The whole scene with the architect?

      Come on, Reloaded wasn't that bad. I think the reason hate them so much is because part of the charm of the original was that it immersed you in this completely new world. And it lost part of that charm.
      • championchap, on 08/10/2008, -0/+4It seemed to forget what it was they had done in the first films too.
        Also, Neo was just fast and could fly in the other 2.

        In the first he was exploding agents from the inside out.
      • Colecoman1982, on 08/10/2008, -0/+8I can't speak for jordanlgta, but the reason I hate them so much (actually, just the last one) is that instead of keeping it a cool sci-fi film series, in which the main character is looked at as a messiah by the other characters, they decided to make him into a, actual, supernatural messiah. I thought it was the lazy, cliche, cop-out to actually make him Jesus as opposed to coming up with a sci-fi explanation for the whole "prophesy" aspect of the story.
      • LemonChicken, on 08/10/2008, -0/+1There's a lot more to the series than meets the eye. I suggest CorporateMofo's exegesis of the trilogy, he's done a damn good job of dissecting it.

        http://www.corporatemofo.com/stories/031109matrix. ...
  • wexmajor, on 08/09/2008, -8/+12Sean Connery strikes me as a ***** dumbass. Did you know he refused to play a heroin addict in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, forcing them to further butcher the source material? If heroin pisses you off so much then why not show why heroin is a bad thing by playing a former hero who has become a pathetic shell of his former self due to his addiction? What an *****. And now it seems he couldn't even understand the script for the Lord of the Rings.
    • LocalDocal, on 08/10/2008, -0/+11I'm actually understanding of that. The LOTR is an extremely complex book written by a highly regarded author and it's so influential that the effects it has today can still be found just about every where that 'fantasy' is concerned. This is not just something you can pick up and get right away; just imagine the enormous research the actors had to do to play the roles in the movies. If Connery really felt that he didn't understand the script, then it would probably be better if he declined to do it instead of taking the role for the money and ruining the movie in the process.

      The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, on the other hand, is a little disconcerting, but look at it this way: Who is to blame? Connery for demanding that a character be changed because he didn't like it or the producers for accommodating him because they wanted a brand name star in their movie that badly?
    • EatingPie, on 08/10/2008, -1/+9Citing The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie to call Connery a dumbass? The only dumbass thing he did was TAKE the ***** role. And if you think HE is the one who butchered the role, consider how absolutely idiotic EVERY OTHER character -- and the whole rest of the movie -- was!

      Massive fail all around here!

      -Pie
      • frostyausty, on 08/10/2008, -0/+3I agree

        -Cake
      • DominicSL, on 08/10/2008, -0/+1yeah, that was one of the worst movies i've ever seen. Connery could've been shooting up all over the place, it wouldn't have improved it one bit. There was no narrative flow whatsoever.
    • dragon76, on 08/10/2008, -0/+3Man, they did so much to ***** up LOEG, that complaint is like pissing in the Arctic to warm the water.
    • jaxcs, on 08/10/2008, -0/+2There was a lot wrong with LOEG, but Connery not playing an addict wasn't one of them. Connery wanted to make an action movie, not a character study. A movie showcasing the Quartermain's inner turmoil the way depicted in the comic would have been dreary and not for the kiddies (and maybe would have earned a R rating). It would have been brave and interesting to see Connery shooting up but it would require a deft directorial touch to make it meaningful. I'm fearful that if they made your movie, it would have been reminiscent of Ang Lee's Hulk.

      I think Connery would have been good as Gandalf, he's played the aged mentor role many times - rameriz in highlander, the dragon in dragonslayer, he even played that role in LOEG when he taught Tom Sawyer how to shoot. The old guy who knows and has seen just about everything is his stock role.
  • t3hmyth, on 08/09/2008, -0/+12It wasn't just Michael Madsen; Daniel Day-Lewis actively sought out the role of Vincent in Pulp Fiction, one of the few times he actively sought out a role. From: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000358/bio
    • FurryToaster, on 08/09/2008, -1/+5Damn. He would have made that part better IMO. How do you turn down DDL? Interesting side note of cinematic history.
      • t3hmyth, on 08/10/2008, -1/+4By that time, the part was cast with Travolta, and Tarantino had written the part specifically for him, so Day-Lewis was turned down for the role. I agree though, that Day-Lewis would have made a better Vincent.
  • Strongo, on 08/09/2008, -2/+25everyone forget that Dave Chappelle turned down the role of Bubba in Forest Gump?
    • jspegele, on 08/09/2008, -0/+6John Travolta and Chevy Chase both turned down the role of Forest.
      • dragon76, on 08/10/2008, -0/+13Thank god. Neither of them ooze the dopey sweetness that Tom Hanks does.
    • ZombieSociety, on 08/10/2008, -2/+4Man, it's a shame Dave Chappelle didn't take that role, because his career has really suffered. Think about it, if he had played that part, he might have done something amazing like sign a $50 million TV deal.

      Tragic.
  • tenspeedogbb, on 08/09/2008, -0/+4Wow, the part about Michael Madsen raises some questions. Were "Toothpick" Vic Vega (a.k.a Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs) and Vincent Vega originally meant to be the same person?
  • Rally603, on 08/09/2008, -11/+28Sometimes at night I dream about Will Smith playing all the iconic movie characters in place of the actual actors and how awesome it would be.

    Imagine Will Smith as Luke Skywalker or Marty Mcfly and try to contain the awesome that will inevitably spurt out of your ears.


    • artofficial, on 08/09/2008, -3/+2Wow...I'm...uhhh...sorry?
    • Rally603, on 08/09/2008, -3/+15oh yeah, /sarcasm
    • andy101, on 08/09/2008, -2/+49Vader: No, I am your father.
      Luke: Aw HELL NAW!!!
      • mt3ch, on 08/09/2008, -0/+32Or Shia Lebeouf

        Vader: No, I am your father.
        Luke: NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO
    • gquaglia, on 08/09/2008, -6/+14***** him and his Scientology ***** buddies.
    • LemonChicken, on 08/10/2008, -0/+9I don't know why everybody is burying this stuff, it's hilarious!
    • regeya, on 08/10/2008, -2/+1I had a funny mental image of him doing the jump program in the original Matrix. That would have been the only good scene in the movie, had he been in it.
  • geniusNOTatWORK, on 08/09/2008, -0/+7It was an incredible role that was turned down, yes, but would it really be the same with Dave Chappelle? Probably, but I don't think we'd have the Dave Chappelle we know and love today. Chappelle's Show post Bubba? It would just be weird.
  • Kajico, on 08/09/2008, -0/+20Wait, Connery turned down the part of Gandalf because he didn't understand the script? That would mean he actually understood the script of Zardoz. Feels like a twilight zone episode.
  • hebejebelus, on 08/09/2008, -6/+2Dugg for Sean.
  • nugz85, on 08/09/2008, -7/+3will smith said that keanu was a smart actor... hahaha
    • tedrock, on 08/09/2008, -0/+1oh you got the joke. gratz
    • gquaglia, on 08/09/2008, -2/+6Whatever, he's made more money then you will in your entire life. So who's not smart.
      • nugz85, on 08/11/2008, -0/+0keanu reeves is not smart
      • nugz85, on 08/11/2008, -0/+0george bush has made more money than than most everyone on digg, i dont hear everyone calling him smart. having money doesnt mean you are intelligent.
  • Chewie67, on 08/09/2008, -0/+18What about Tom Selleck turning down the role of Indiana Jones?

    Kurt Russell, Nick Nolte, and Christopher Walken as Han Solo?

    What different films they would have been.....
    • LemonChicken, on 08/10/2008, -0/+4Kurt Russel, meh. I can't see it being that different. Come to think of it, he's pretty perfect.
    • regeya, on 08/10/2008, -0/+2Tom Selleck didn't turn down the role; he was stuck in his Magnum P.I. contract. Had it not been for getting the Jones role, the show would likely have been cancelled...and for good reason. Blech.

      Seriously, though, could you imagine Selleck playing Jones? Me neither.
  • ThinkRad, on 08/09/2008, -0/+11What about Michael Keaton turning down Batman Forever(and 35 million dollars)? Artistically sound decision, but maybe not fiscally responsible for a guy who's career was about to go into the toilet.
    • chukd, on 08/10/2008, -0/+3After the second movie, Keaton saw the series going down hill fast. I don't blame him for leaving. Can you imagine Keaton with bat nipples?
  • SquigglyP, on 08/09/2008, -0/+10Eh. What's to regret about turning the roles down? There's a very good chance that the films would have flopped with those actors. Sean Connery as Gandalf? That would have been ***** awful, especially if Connery had phoned in his performance has he's done for just about everything he's been in in the last 20 years.
  • FurryToaster, on 08/09/2008, -0/+23I turned down the role of a paying ticket holder to "The Happening." Regrets: None.
    • ZombieSociety, on 08/10/2008, -0/+4Man, I had a blast watching The Happening. Because A) I didn't pay, and B) within minutes, it had turned into one big MST3k-fest.

      After the movie, I was standing outside waiting for my friends and some guy came up to me and went "were you just watching The Happening? ...THAT MOVIE ***** SUCKED@!#%$@^"
  • B00Radley, on 08/09/2008, -6/+1Check out the latest on Sean Connery and his wife beating dick-ery:

    http://digg.com/celebrity/Confirmed_Sean_Connery_i ...
  • ErickStevenson, on 08/10/2008, -6/+0The mistake would have been if Carry Grant was to play the Bond, Sean Connery is the man!
    Would have been interesting to see him play Gandalf though =)
    • regeya, on 08/10/2008, -0/+1Bah. Watch North by Northwest, then see if you wish to retract your comment.
  • mrogi, on 08/10/2008, -0/+1I heard Burt Reynolds turned down more great movie roles than any actor in Hollywood history.
  • ErickStevenson, on 08/10/2008, -7/+0The mistake would have been if Carry Grant was to play the Bond, Sean Connery is the man!
    Would have been interesting to see him play Gandalf though =)
  • appleseed1234, on 08/10/2008, -0/+22*alternate universe*
    "Did you know Harrison Ford was asked to be Han Solo, but he turned it down so they chose Christopher Walken instead?"
    "Thank god, I can't imagine Star Wars without Christopher Walken, he IS Han Solo!"
    • aptanalogy, on 08/10/2008, -0/+3He would have given Solo more subtext than the character perhaps deserves...it would be awesome, though.
    • esfisher, on 08/10/2008, -0/+17"I gotta have more lightsaber!"
  • hippyup, on 08/10/2008, -7/+3Michael Madsen would've made a much better Vincent than Travolta. I honestly think Travolta is the one bad part of Pulp Fiction. The guy really can't act. Period.
    • Kas70, on 08/10/2008, -1/+2I am one of the what, like 5 people who hated Pulp Fiction. I would have liked it more with Madsen though, he's an incredible actor.
  • xen271, on 08/10/2008, -2/+4John Voight should have been Jack in "The Shining." I just recently re-saw the Shining and Jack Nicholson's grinning and mugging totally ruined the evil within. Voight's cold eyes would have been perfect for the Shining.
    • ThinkRad, on 08/10/2008, -0/+4"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" Voight never coulda pulled that off.
      • xen271, on 08/10/2008, -2/+1That line was ad-libbed. Kubrick must have been smoking crack to let something that corny stay in the movie.
      • regeya, on 08/10/2008, -0/+3Having read a few King stories, the line fits, really. When King's characters go off the deep end, they go that far.
    • wrzhydr, on 08/10/2008, -0/+4whoa whoa whoa...Jack's grinning and mugging is WHAT MADE him so villainous! An evil psychotic character who's smiling is just plain evil.
    • ZombieSociety, on 08/10/2008, -0/+2"This is my impression of Jack Nicholson, from The Shining, in Spanish. '.....are you outta your *****' mind? .....................Pedro?'"
    • 1ofMany, on 08/10/2008, -0/+1You are SOOO going to be dugg down for that comment but I dugg you up because you're the only other person besides me who disliked Jacks performance in The Shining.
  • xboxfiend, on 08/10/2008, -0/+1#6) The Role: Indiana Jones
    Who let it get away: Tom Seleck
    Regrettability Meter: Seleck turned down the role to do Magnum P.I. Sure, it wasn't a bad show but I don't think I need to point out the mismatch here either.
    • Rizmaster, on 08/10/2008, -1/+1Seleck was signed on for Magnum and couldn't get out of his contract. He wanted to play Indy but couldn't.
  • hectordejesus, on 08/10/2008, -1/+2"At that point I wasn’t smart enough as an actor to let the movie be—whereas Keanu was.”

    WTF... Was Mr. Smith practicing his sarcastic remarks? That was good acting in itself to get that comment out without laughing to himself.
    • undeadbydawn, on 08/10/2008, -0/+2Nope, it's a pretty valid point.
      Will Smith's films until very recently have been little more than vehicles to promote his new single. He injects way too much of his own personality in roles.
      Neo was intended to be a clean slate that The One could be poured into - effectively a human hard-drive preened to carry the ultimate antivirus.
      Keanu Reaves perfectly nailed the clueless dude who only *thinks* he knows his *****. The instant he sees the truth he is ready, and terrified, to be consumed by it and bite back.
      Will Smith would have cocked around and probably changed half the script. As it stands the original Martix is a superb film. Reaves made it. He sucks dog balls in everything else.
  • jeremyadam, on 08/10/2008, -0/+1i remember reading that Daniel Day Lewis wanted the role of vincent vega but tarantino turned him down.
  • MomentOfClarity, on 08/10/2008, -1/+0zzzzzzzz BOOORRRRRINNNNGGGG
  • M724, on 08/10/2008, -0/+11Can you imagine Sean Connery facing the Balrog? "YOU SHALL NOT PASSH!"
  • TheBuz, on 08/10/2008, -1/+1The McQueen one truly makes me sad. McQueen makes every movie better.
  • riptor666, on 08/10/2008, -0/+1As bad of an actor that Keanu Reeves is, Will Smith would have been completely wrong for the role of Neo. Let's be honest though it was Lawrence Fishburne that made the movie with Morpheous, and any ***** can keep acting like an idiot and asking questions.
  • ScrabbleFan, on 08/10/2008, -0/+1i love, love, love cary grant! i knew he gave up the role to be james bond, but i didn't realize had he taken the role, it would have only been for one movie. very interesting!
  • shipwreck58, on 08/11/2008, -0/+0Sean Connery and Steve McQueen are still two of the coolest freaking men ever in Hollywood
  • SaraSu, on 08/11/2008, -0/+1Oh God, Wild Wild West from the Matirx...it hurts.
  • sandhuharvey, on 11/30/2008, -0/+0Keanu reeves is a rubbish actor!
    http://www.myfreeps3.net
  •  

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