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Often times, actors turn down roles for straightforward reasons, such as scheduling conflicts. However, sometimes, their thinking is a little more… unusual, to say the least.
Here are 13 weird and bizarre reasons why actors turn down roles:
1.
after Steve Carell Leave The office, James Gandolfini He was asked to play the new president of Dundler Mifflin. However, HBO reportedly paid him $3 million not to accept the role.
Many actors – including many The office — I played Michael Scott’s replacements before the job finally goes away Rainn Wilson Like Dwight Schrute.
2.
Tom Hanks refused to play Harry Burns When Harry Met Sally “Because he was going through a divorce, and he was very happy not to get married.”
The role went to Billy Crystal.
3.
Prince refused to play the Mini Max in Michael Jackson’s “Bad” music video because “the first line of that song is ‘Your Butt is me’.”
Wesley Snipes played the role.
4.
Olivia de Havilland turned down the role of Mary in the film It’s a wonderful life Because she thought it would be “awkward” to play her ex-husband Jimmy Stewart’s wife.
The role went to Donna Reed.
5.
In 2023, Liam Neeson said The times That in the early 1990s, he was “very interested” in playing James Bond, but his then-girlfriend, Natasha Richardson, told him that if he accepted the role, they would not get married. So choose it over franchise.
The role went to Pierce Brosnan.
6.
Pierce Brosnan met with Tim Burton about playing the titular role in the film Batman (1989), but he “couldn’t take it seriously (because) any man with his underpants outside his pants couldn’t be taken seriously.”
Michael Keaton played the role.
7.
Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson asked Warren Beatty to play Jack Horner Boogie nights“, but Paul “realized after a couple of weeks that there was some confusion because he thought (Paul) was asking him to play Dirk Diggler.”
Burt Reynolds played Jack Horner, and Mark Wahlberg played Dirk Diggler.
8.
Russell Crowe refused to play Wolverine in the film X-Men Because of a specific resemblance he thought it must be his Gladiator role. He said in 2017 News.com.au“If you remember, Maximus has a wolf in the middle of his armor, and he has a wolf as his companion… which I thought would be a bigger deal (at the time). So I said no because I didn’t want to be a ‘wolf’ like ‘Mr. Wolf’.”
9.
Despite being offered “a lot of money” to play Han Solo, Al Pacino declined Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope Because when he read the script, he didn’t “get it.”
Harrison Ford played the role.
10.
Sean Connery refused to play Gandalf Lord of the Rings Because he “read the material and did not understand it.” But he did not reveal the reason for his refusal until years later.
The role went to Ian McKellen.
11.
per outsideGil Sondergaard was supposed to play the Wicked Witch of the West Wizard of Oz. I did one Costume test as a witch version of the witch, but reportedly dropped out after the studio asked her to try a more traditional “ugly” witch look.
Margaret Hamilton assumed the role.
12.
Lee Marvin was director Steven Spielberg’s first choice to play Quint Jawbut reportedly “wasn’t interested” because he “took fishing seriously and didn’t want to do it from a ‘movie’ boat.”
Robert Shaw played the role.
13.
Finally, Ewan McGregor reportedly refused to play Patrick Bateman American Psycho Because Christian Bale called him and told him not to accept the role.
Naturally, Christian Bale played the role.
What rejected role did you find most surprising? Share your thoughts in the comments!
