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Al Pacino -

The actor gave a talk in New York on April 19 2023 in which he revealed one of the major missed opportunities of his career. "When I first came up, I was the new kid on the block, you know what happens when you first become famous. It’s like, ‘Give it to Al.’ They’d give me Queen Elizabeth to play,” he joked. In the 1970s, he was given a script for 'Star Wars' and invited to play the role of Han Solo. Pacino couldn't understand what the heck it was all about, so he passed. "I gave Harrison Ford a career!" he told the audience. Ford famously played Han Solo for the first time in the 1977 movie 'Star Wars,' and went on to play the iconic character four more times, once as recently as 2019 in the movie 'The Rise of Skywalker.' Pacino may have missed out on the massively successful 'Star Wars' franchise, but it certainly doesn't seem to have harmed his career.

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Rachel McAdams -

In the mid aughts, Rachel McAdams was flying high thanks to her leading roles in the hit movies 'The Notebook' (2004) and 'Mean Girls' (2004). Naturally, the young star was inundated with offers after that, but instead of riding the wave, she took a two-year break from Hollywood. McAdams moved to Canada to take a breather and it's taken some hindsight to understand why. "It wasn’t quite jiving with my personality and what I needed to stay sane," she told Bustle. "There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that? It’s taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing.”

During that two-year period when McAdams was taking time out to rebalance herself, she turned down some of the biggest feature films of the decade. They included 'Iron man' (2008), 'The Devil Wears Prada' (2006), 'Mission: Impossible III' (2006), 'Get Smart' (2008), and 'Casino Royale' (2006). “I felt guilty for not capitalizing on the opportunity that I was being given," she recalled, but having seen the success of each of these films, she trusts that the right person got the job. 

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Jackie Chan - Michelle Yeoh -

Michelle Yeoh's lead role in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' is all anyone can talk about on the awards circuit after blowing people away in theaters. But the actress revealed that another star was offered up her role first, which was originally written for a man. The film’s directors Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan initially envisioned Jackie Chan in the lead role, with Yeoh playing his wife. However, Chan turned down the role and it was later rewritten for Yeoh, casting Ke Huy Quan as her husband—to stunning results, we might add. 

Yeoh recalled Chan texting her after she was nominated for an Oscar, one of the film's 11 nominations total. “The roles were completely reversed. I remember Jackie texting me and saying, ‘Congratulations! You know your boys came to see me first’,” Yeoh said in an interview on CNN. “I’m like, ‘Thank you bro, you did me a huge favor.'" The actress also suggested that while Chan did indeed have a "very busy" work schedule, the decision for him to turn down the role was "mutual," as the so-called Daniels had already “stepped back” and were looking at rewriting the lead role for a woman.

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Madonna - Carrie-Anne Moss -

On 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' Madonna revealed that she still has one big regret, and it's that she turned down a role in 'The Matrix.' "Can you believe that? I wanted to kill myself," she said. Though she didn’t specify which character, Trinity, ultimately played by Carrie-Anne Moss, was the only lead female role. “That's like one of the best movies ever made,” Madonna said. “A teeny-tiny part of me regrets just that one moment in my life.” 

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Jennifer Aniston - Kate Beckinsale -

The 2001 film 'Serendipity,' starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, has earned its place in the canon of romantic comedies, and it still continues to draw people to the famed eponymous dessert spot in New York City for frozen hot chocolates. But little do most people know, that lead role was first offered to none other than Jennifer Aniston. According to director Peter Chelsom, Aniston turned down the role of Sara because she didn't want to be pigeonholed into rom-coms, he told Insider. “I remember when she came in, she said, ‘I do a romantic comedy once a week,’ her being on ‘Friends’ at the time. So, she clearly had other things on her plate and it was her decision not to do it.” Since then, however, Aniston has starred in many successful rom-coms.

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Rachael Leigh Cook - Anna Paquin -

Everyone knows and loves the troubled mutant character Rogue portrayed by Anna Paquin in several 'X-Men' films, but what most people don't know is that the famed role could have been Rachael Leigh Cook's. The 'She's All That' actress revealed in an interview with The New York Times published August 29 that she had turned down the role in 2000's 'X-Men' to avoid acting on a green screen. "As soon as I saw the posters for it, I knew that'd made a mistake," she said, adding that the move a "huge misstep." Apparently it was a time in her career when people were trying to make sure that she would be taken seriously as an actress, and of course she wanted the same. But now she's left with regret, particularly after the continued success of the franchise to this day. "I definitely did things for the wrong reasons."

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Debra Winger - Geena Davis -

In an interview with The Telegraph, actress Debra Winger revealed that she decided to exit the beloved 1992's All-American Girls Professional Baseball film 'A League of Their Own,' because Madonna was cast. Winger said she had already spent three months training with the Chicago Cubs after being cast as the team's catcher, but when Madonna was tapped to play another lead role, she quit. She added, “The studio agreed with me because it was the only time I ever collected a pay-or-play on my contract,” Winger explained about her compensation. “In other words, I collected my pay even though I did not play, and that’s very hard to get in a court.” She was soon replaced by Geena Davis, and while Winger would only say that Davis "did okay" in the widely-acclaimed film, Winger still maintains her criticism of Madonna: "I think [her] acting career has spoken for itself." 

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Alan Cumming - Kenneth Branagh -

The actor told the Telegraph he was in the running to play Hogwarts professor Gilderoy Lockhart in 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets' in 2002, and revealed why he didn't take the coveted role. He explained that they wanted him to do a screen test but said they couldn't pay him more than a certain sum because they "didn’t have any more money in the budget," though he knew Rupert Everett was getting paid more under the same agent. "Blatantly lying, stupidly lying, as well. Like, if you’re going to lie, be clever about it." The actor added that he was surprised when Everett didn't even get the role, explaining, "They made him screen test, and I remember he brought his own wig. And then they gave it to Kenneth Branagh, came out of the shadows.”

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Matt Damon -

In 2019, Matt Damon revealed that he had to turn down a role in 'Avatar' even though he would've received 10% of the profits, which would've netted him around US$250 million. The actor said it was because he was committed to the 'Bourne' franchise.

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Matt Damon - Sam Worthington - Owing to his filming schedule for 'The Bourne Ultimatum' (2007), Damon refused the starring role in 'Avatar,' according to Access. Worthington ended up playing the part instead.

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Beyoncé - Gugu Mbatha-Raw - According to Yahoo!, the director of 'Beauty and the Beast' (2017) wanted Beyoncé to be the voice of Plumette. But Knowles refused the part, so it went to Mbatha-Raw.

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Charlie Hunnam - Jamie Dornan - For a long time it was thought that Hunnam would play the role of Christian Grey in 'Fifty Shades of Grey' (2015). But according to Variety, the actor had to turn down the role due to personal reasons, and it was Dornan who ended up playing the character.

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Christina Applegate - Reese Witherspoon - When she finished filming sitcom 'Married... with Children,' Applegate received an offer to star in 'Legally Blonde' (2001). But according to Entertainment Tonight, she thought the role was too similar to the character she'd played in the series, and so she refused it. Witherspoon took on the part instead.

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Emily Blunt - Scarlett Johansson - Blunt had been the first choice to play Black Widow in 'Iron Man 2' (2010). According to MTV, conflicts with other movies led Blunt to turn down the role, which went to Johansson instead.

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Anne Hathaway - Katherine Heigl - According to Allure, Hathaway didn't want to star in 'Knocked Up' (2007), as the movie included a scene where her character would give birth. Heigl took on the role instead.

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Anne Hathaway - Rachel McAdams -

'The Devil Wears Prada' has had an unexpectedly long-lasting impact on audiences, one which clearly wasn't apparent to the actresses who were first sought out for the lead role of Andy Sachs, ultimately played by Anne Hathaway. Ahead of the film's 15th anniversary, director David Frankel revealed that 'The Notebook' star Rachel McAdams turned down the role three times! 

“The studio was determined to have her, and she was determined not to do it,” David Frankel told Entertainment Weekly of McAdams’ reluctance. The film’s studio, Fox 2000, had reportedly wanted an “established dramatic actress over Hathaway and her then teen-oriented filmography,” and some of the other actresses preferred over Hathaway included Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Kate Hudson, and Kirsten Dunst. Hathaway has previously said she was the ninth choice to star in the film, but she never stopped campaigning for the role. 

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Benicio Del Toro - Benedict Cumberbatch - Vulture reported that Del Toro was the favorite to play the villain in 'Star Trek Into Darkness' (2013). However, the actor never reached an agreement with the production team, and so Benedict Cumberbatch took on the part.

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Emma Roberts - Ashley Benson - According to the New York Post, Roberts would have appeared in 'Spring Breakers' (2012), but creative differences meant that Benson ended up taking the part.

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Jennifer Lawrence - Jennifer Jason Leigh - Variety states that Tarantino wanted Lawrence to appear in 'The Hateful Eight' (2015), but the actress was too busy with other movies and so her part went to Jennifer Jason Leigh.

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Emma Watson - Emma Stone - Owing to her filming schedule for 'Beauty and the Beast' (2017), Watson had to refuse the part in 'La La Land' (2016), so it went to Stone instead. Entertainment Weekly says that Watson wasn't able to commit herself 100% to the project.

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Gwyneth Paltrow - Kate Winslet - Us Weekly reported that Paltrow turned down the role of Rose in 'Titanic,' so it went to Kate Winslet instead.

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Hugh Jackman - Daniel Craig - According to Variety, Jackman received a call asking if he was interested in taking on the role of James Bond in 'Casino Royale' (2006). But in the end, Daniel Craig made the character his own.

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Mark Wahlberg - Jake Gyllenhaal - According to UPROXX, 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005) director Ang Lee thought of Wahlberg for one of the main roles. But the actor didn't like the script, and so the part went to Jake Gyllenhaal instead.

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Kevin Hart - Brandon T. Jackson - In an interview with the The Hollywood Reporter, Hart confirmed that he had turned down the role of Alpa Chino in 'Tropic Thunder' (2008) because he wasn't able to commit to the role 100%. Jackson took the role instead.

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Leonardo DiCaprio - Benedict Cumberbatch - According to The Hollywood Reporter, it was DiCaprio who was meant to have taken on the role of Alan Turing in 'The Imitation Game' (2014). Cumberbatch ended up taking it on instead.

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Angela Bassett - Halle Berry - Actress Angela Bassett refused a role in 'Monster's Ball' (2001) because she didn't want to play a prostitute, according to People. Halle Berry got the part instead, and an Oscar for her performance!

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Lindsay Lohan - Heather Graham - According to US Weekly the producers of 'The Hangover' (2009) had earmarked Lohan for the role of Jade, but unfortunately the actress turned the role down. In the end, it was Graham who took the part.

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Will Smith - Keanu Reeves - Smith turned down the role of Neo in 'The Matrix' (1999). This was because he wouldn't have been able to dedicate himself to the role, according to Wired. The part went to Reeves instead.

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Matthew McConaughey - Kurt Russell -

In an interview with Playboy, McConaughey revealed that he had turned down a part in 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' (2017) for one in 'The Dark Tower' (2017). Russell took on his rejected role instead.

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Jennifer Hudson - Gabourey Sidibe - According to the Huffington Post, Hudson refused to play the main role in 'Precious' (2009). Sidibe played the part instead.

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Michael B. Jordan - Corey Hawkins - According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dr. Dre wanted Jordan to act in 'Straight Outta Compton' (2015), but he was filming 'Fantastic Four' and so Hawkins got the role instead.

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Reese Witherspoon - Neve Campbell - According to The Telegraph, the production team on 'Scream' (1996) asked Witherspoon to play the role of Sidney. But she refused, and so Campbell played the role instead.

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Sarah Michelle Gellar - Elisa Donovan - According to Vanity Fair, the production team for 'Clueless' (1995) wanted Gellar to appear in the movie. But as that was impossible, Donovan was chosen.

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Selena Gomez - Demi Lovato - TigerBeat reported that Gomez was the first choice to play Mitchie Torres in 'Camp Rock.' Since she turned the role down, it went to Lovato.

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Jake Gyllenhaal - Joel Kinnaman - According to Variety, Gyllenhaal refused the role of Rick Flag in 'Suicide Squad' (2016), so it went to Kinnaman.

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Chiwetel Ejiofor - Andrew Scott - According to an article published in Variety, director Sam Mendes wanted Scott to play the role of C in 'Spectre' (2015) because he could be paid US$1 million less than Ejiofor.

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Willow Smith - Quvenzhané Wallis - According to Entertainment Tonight, Smith turned down the main role in 'Annie' (2014) as she was on tour. Wallis took the part instead.

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Zendaya - Alexandra Shipp - Zendaya was chosen to play the role of Aaliyah in the biopic about the singer. The choice was a controversial one, as the NY Daily News reports, and Zendaya ended up abandoning the project. Shipp took the part instead.

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Ja Rule - Ludacris -

After his small role in 'The Fast and the Furious' (2001), Ja Rule was persuaded to return for the sequel. According to Grantland, the rapper didn't show a good attitude and so the role went to Ludacris instead.

See also: Stars who were fired from major movie and TV roles

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