Believe it or not, Harrison Ford was not the top choice for Hans Solo in Star Wars, nor was Al Pacino for Michael Corleone in The Godfather. So much goes on behind the scenes to make the movies audiences flock to theatres to see. Long before shooting begins, a casting director and his/her team are tasked with finding the perfect fit for each role in a prospective film. One wrong casting choice has the potential to ruin an entire production. The bigger the project, the higher the stakes.
It’s hard to imagine the characters on this list being played by anyone else, but the actors chosen for the final cut were not all the first pick. There is usually steep competition for parts in movies slated to become hits, as well as endless negotiating between actors, agents, and producers.
Rose In Titanic (1997)
Kate Winslet has some serious competition for her role in James Cameron’s Titanic. Both Gwyneth Paltrow and Claire Danes were among the final choices to play Rose DeWitt Bukater.
Danes apparently turned down the role since she just starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in Romeo + Juliet, while Paltrow ultimately lost out to Winslet. Winslet’s love of the script and enthusiasm helped her land the part.
Aragorn In Lord Of The Rings (2001 – 2003)
British actor Stuart Townsend was cast as Aragorn in Lord of the Rings before Viggo Mortensen came along. Townsend spent two months preparing and training for the role, only to be fired when he arrived on set.
Director Peter Jackson realized Townsend, who was in his 20s, was far too young to play the part. Within days, Mortensen was on board.
Marty McFly In Back To The Future (1985)
Stuart Townsend isn’t the only actor to be fired on set for being a bad fit. Eric Stoltz filmed a large portion of Back to the Future before director Robert Zemeckis realized it wasn’t working out.
Michael J. Fox was Zemeckis’s first choice all along, but he turned down the role due to scheduling conflicts. After Stoltz’s departure, Fox’s schedule allowed him to jump in.
Han Solo In Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
George Lucas wanted Al Pacino to play Han Solo in his space opera Star Wars. The gritty, dramatic actor said no to Lucas after reading the script.
“It was mine for the taking but I didn’t understand the script,” Pacino later explained. Lucas then held auditions for the role, where he decided upon Harrison Ford.
Jack Torrance In The Shining (1980)
Stanley Kubrick considered both Robin Williams and Robert De Niro for the role of Jack Torrance in his psychological horror masterpiece The Shining. Kubrick ultimately decided against both, choosing Jack Nicholson.
Kubrick felt De Niro was too restrained to play Torrance. On the flip side, Williams was too energetic and high energy for the role.
Michael Corleone In The Godfather (1972)
Strangely enough, Francis Ford Coppola asked Jack Nicholson to play Michael Corleone in The Godfather before Al Pacino. Nicholson told Coppola he wasn’t interested.
“I was asked to play the lead in it, but I felt it should be an Italian person,” he shared. Nicholson was also preparing himself for another important role: J.J. Gittes in Chinatown.
Edward Cullen In Twilight (2008)
Twilight author Stephanie Meyer already knew who she wanted to play Edward Cullen when her supernatural romance books were slated to become a film series. Her choice all along was future Superman Henry Cavill.
Since Cullen is a 17-year-old vampire, he must appear young on screen. Cavill just looked too old for the role, which led to Robert Pattinson landing it.
Russell Hammond In Almost Famous (2000)
Brad Pitt was the original actor cast as rock star Russell Hammond in Cameron Crowe’s Almost Famous. Pitt shot a few days worth of scenes before cutting ties with the production due to creative differences.
Fortunately, Billy Crudup accepted the role after Pitt, which turned into one of the most important in Crudup’s career. Pitt has had no issues finding other juicy roles since then.
Catwoman In Batman Returns (1992)
For the ’90s generation, Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in Batman Returns remains an important pop culture moment. That being said, Pfeiffer actually stepped into the movie at the last minute, filling in for the original actor: Annette Bening.
Bening dropped out of the production after finding out she was pregnant. The panicked production team, led by director Tim Burton, was relieved when Pfeiffer saved the movie by saying yes to playing Catwoman.
Neo In The Matrix (1999)
Keanu Reeves’s career may have taken a completely different route if Will Smith had accepted the role of Neo in the cyberpunk sci-fi film The Matrix. Smith was at the height of his career when he read the script for The Matrix, and his meeting with the Wachowskis left him unimpressed.
Instead, Smith decided to star in what turned out to be a total bomb: Wild Wild West. Smith definitely has some regrets about his choices.
