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Clare Danes remembers being offered the lead in “Titanic” shortly after the success of “Romeo + Juliet” (also starring Leonardo DiCaprio. “I’d just made this romantic epic with Leo in Mexico City, which is where they were going to shoot Titanic, and I just didn’t have it in me. And I remember, Leo and I shared a manager at the time, and we were there at the office. I was on a balcony, which is funny [because of Romeo + Juliet]… and Leo had this rental red convertible, some, like, hot rod-dy car. And he was kinda going in circles in the parking lot. And I knew he was wrestling with the decision to do that movie or not and he just looked up at me, and he said, ‘I’m doing it. I’m doing it.’ And I could see he wasn’t sure, but he was like, f*** it, I gotta do this thing.’ And I looked down on him going, like, I totally understand why you are doing it. And I’m not ready for that” she told Dax Shepard on his “Armchair Expert” podcast.
As for why Will Smith turned down the role of Neo: The Wachowskis’ pitch just didn’t land with him. “So I made ‘Wild Wild West,’” Will admitted, “I’m not proud of it!” He added that had he accepted, Val Kilmer would have played Morpheus.
“Clueless”: Sarah had to turn the part down because of scheduling conflicts with her daytime soap “All My Children.” Alicia Silverstone ended up turning Cher into one of the most iconic teen characters ever.
“The Blide Side”: Julia Roberts said she turned down the part to focus on her family. Sandra Bullock also turned it down initially, but eventually came around and won the Oscar for her troubles.
“Beetlejuice”: Jennifer Connelly, Sarah Jessica Parker and Winona Ryder all turned down the part of Lydia. Luckily, Winona reconsidered and it became one of her most famous performances.
“Titanic”: Gwyneth was reportedly James Cameron’s first choice to play Rose, but turned down the opportunity of a lifetime. Kate Winslet was a more than welcome replacement in one of the most beloved movies of all time.
“The Silence of the Lambs”: Director Jonathan Demme offered Michelle Pfieffer the part, but she turned it down because she thought the script was too violent. Jodie Foster won her second Oscar for this classic.
“Shakespeare in Love”: Kate Winslet was offered the part right after the huge success of “Titanic,” but turned it down because she didn’t want to be typecast. It was then offered to Gwyneth Paltrow, playing it to Oscar-winning perfection.
“The Reader”: Nicole Kidman dropped out of the film after she became pregnant, allowing Kate Winslet to swoop in. She not only won an Oscar for this, but cemented her status as one of the greatest actresses of her generation.
“Monster’s Ball”: Angela Basset said she turned down the part because she it was “such a stereotype about black women.” Halle Berry’s performance catapulted her to the top of the A-list by becoming the first African-American woman to win the Best Actress Oscar.
“Million Dollar Baby”: Sandra Bullock didn’t technically turn down the role, but had to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts with “Miss Congeniality 2.” Hilary Swank was cast and ended up winning an Oscar for her performance.
“Knocked Up”: Anne Hathaway turned down the film because she didn’t believe that female nudity of another character was necessary to the story. Katherine Heigl was cast in what ended up being a star-making turn.
“Iron Man 2”: Emily Blunt was another victim of scheduling conflict and had to turn down the part of Black Window in “Iron Man 2.” Scarlett Johansson stepped into what eventually became the billion dollar “Avengers” franchise.
“The Hangover”: Lohan said she thought the script had no potential and turned down the role as the stripper, Jade. Heather Graham joined the cast in what became the highest grossing R-rated comedy at the time.
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”: Director David Fincher offered the role to Natalie Portman, but she she turned it down. A then unknown Rooney Mara was cast and was nominated for an Oscar for it.
Timothy Olyphant was originally offered the role of Dom Toretto in “The Fast and the Furious.” After he turned it down, producers met with Vin Diesel and the rest is history.
Danny DeVito was offered the role of George Costanza on “Seinfeld.” Larry Miller, Brad Hall, David Alan Grier, Nathan Lane, Steve Buscemi, Paul Shaffer and Chris Rock also tested for the part, which went to Jason Alexander.
Josh Hartnett says he turned down playing Superman, Batman and Spider-Man â’¬’ saying “I somehow knew those roles had potential to define me, and I didn’t want that.”
“The Wrestler”: Nicolas Cage was originally attached, but turned it down for unknown reasons. It turned out to be Mickey Rourke’s Oscar-nominated comeback.
“Salt”: After Tom Cruise decided to drop out, the part was re-written as a woman to allow Angelina Jolie to play the title character.
“Nine”: Javier Bardem turned down the role of Guido in the musical due to exhaustion. Daniel Day Lewis stepped in to what turned out to be an unmemorable movie.
“Michael Clayton”: Denzel passed on the part because he didn’t want to work with a first-time director in Tony Gilroy. Clooney swooped in and scored an Oscar nod.
“Lord of the Rings”: Sean Connery turned down the part of Gandalf because he didn’t understand the material. Ian McKellan was then perfectly cast in one of the most legendary franchises in history.
“Lincoln”: Liam Neeson was Steven Spielberg’s first choice for Lincoln, but he decided to turn it down for unknown reasons. Daniel Day Lewis was cast and won his 3rd Best Actor Oscar for it.
“Jerry Maguire”: Cameron Crowe wrote the part for Hanks, but he turned it down to direct “That Thing You Do!” Tom Cruise scored an Oscar nod for this â’¬’ one of his most iconic roles.
“Gladiator”: Mel Gibson turned down the role of Maximus in the Best Picture winner because he felt that he was too old (he was in his mid-40’s). Russell Crowe played him to Oscar-winning perfection.
“Forrest Gump”: John Travolta said turning Forrest down was one of the biggest mistakes of his career. But honestly, Tom Hanks is the only one that could make him one of the most famous characters of the last century.
“Dallas Buyer’s Club”: Ryan Gosling was attached, but when funding fell through, he dropped out to pursue other projects. Matthew McConaughey stepped into the role of a lifetime.
“Casino Royale”: Hugh Jackman was offered the part of James Bond, but turned it down because he didn’t want to be typecast. Daniel Craig proved to be the wiser.
“The Bourne Identity”: Brad Pitt turned down the role of Jason Bourne because he was working on his own spy movie â’¬’ Spy Game. Matt Damon turned out to lead a multi-million dollar franchise.
“Boogie Nights”: At the height of his post-“Titanic” career, DiCaprio turned down the chance to play porn star Dirk Diggler and regretted it. His pal Mark Wahlberg took the role in this cult classic.
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