Hollywood stars who were not the first choice for a role
Hollywood stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio were not the first choices to lead 'Titanic.' But that's not all: 'Black Widow', 'Seven', 'Forrest Gump' and even 'Star Wars' could have been totally different if the stars that were meant to be their protagonists would have said yes. Let's see which actors and actresses could have been the faces of some of the most famous movies in history.
Can you imagine any other Black Widow since she appeared in 'Iron Man 2'? Everything would have been different if the actress that was offered the role would have said yes. Who was Marvel's first choice?
The actress from 'A Quiet Place,' Emily Blunt, was the first casting option for the Black Widow. The British actress rejected the role for two reasons. One she shared with the media - she wasn't ready - and the other was revealed unintentionally: Blunt and Deadline hadn't gotten to a financial agreement.
The role of Jack Dawson in 'Titanic' shot DiCaprio to fame. However, the actor struggled to get the part. Before him, a winning-Oscar actor said 'no' to James Cameron. But who?
We still don't know why Matthew McConaughey didn't play Jack Dawson. The casting crew had the two candidates, Kate Winslet and McConaughey, do an audition together and told the actor he got the part. However, in the end, it was DiCaprio who filmed 'Titanic' with Winslet.
DiCaprio's co-star in the film, Kate Winslet, was not the first choice to play Rose DeWitt Bukater. Before Cameron and his team considered her for the acclaimed role, other names were circling around.
With 'Titanic' we had the opportunity to relive DiCaprio and Claire Danes' amazing chemistry in 'Romeo + Juliet.' However, the actress said 'no' to James Cameron. According to what she told different media, she was not prepared for the fame that would come with the role. Other actresses, like Gwyneth Paltrow or Gabrielle Anwar, were also considered, but as we all know, Kate Winslet won in the end.
Fans of 'Seven' can't imagine this film without Brad Pitt's brilliant performance. However, at first, the role of the impulsive inspector, David Mills, was going to be played by a different actor.
At the time, Denzel Washington was sure he didn't fit the role and said 'no' to the movie producers. With time, however, the actor recognized that rejecting the role was a mistake. Just image Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman being the protagonists of David Fincher's film...
She won the Oscar for Best Actress as the sweet Mia in 'La La Land', but it appears that Emma Stone wasn't the first casting choice for the Damien Chazelle movie. Another Emma said 'no' before she got a shot at it.
The first option for the director of 'La La Land' was Emma Watson. However, due to scheduling problems, the iconic Hermione Granger rejected the role. We imagine that she felt it was all worth it though, cause Watson played Belle in 'Beauty and the Beast' instead.
Something similar happened to Stone's co-star, Ryan Gosling. Damien Chazelle, the director of 'La La Land,' had another lead actor in mind.
The good relationship between Miles Teller and Damien Chazelle after 'Whiplash' didn't have any effect here. Although Teller said at the time that he was sure to have gotten the role, his agent ended up calling him and confirmed that the producers had chosen Gosling instead, something that didn't sit right with Miles Teller.
The story of Angelina Jolie's character in 'Salt' was going to be very different. At first, the movie was going to have a male protagonist and, obviously, Angelina wasn't the first option.
Yes, the agent Evelyn Salt was going to be a man: Edwin A. Salt, and the actor that was chosen for the role was Tom Cruise. However, the actor abandoned the project and Sony thought that the story needed a feminine touch. That's how Angelina Jolie got the part.
Harrison Ford's performance in 'Star Wars' belongs to the history of cinema, but he wasn't the first option for the role. Another Hollywood big fish said 'no' first. Who was it?
Can you imagine Al Pacino fighting back-to-back with Chewbacca? The actor said that he decided to reject the role at the last minute. It forced the 'Star Wars' producers to hire a young Harrison Ford to play Solo, which definitely turned out to be a good choice.
She won the Oscar for Best Actress with her characterization of Leigh Anne Tuohy, but she was not one of the casting team's first options. Let's find out who was.
According to Julia Roberts, she received the script of 'The Blind Side' and didn't like it that much. That's why she rejected the role and Bullock got it.
In 1995, Tom Hanks won his second Oscar for his performance in 'Forrest Gump.' However, the movie could have been completely different. Which famous actor rejected the role?
Although we now know that actors like Bill Murray and Chevy Chase were also considered for the role, it ended up being John Travolta who the producers wanted most to star in the film. However, the 'Grease' actor rejected the role and Tom Hanks was next in line.
Shortly after winning an Oscar for 'The Blind Side', Sandra Bullock got the role of Ryan Stone in 'Gravity.' The movie was a success and the actress received another Oscar nomination. But it seems that the role wasn't initially for her.
Alfonso Cuarón's first option for the role was another Oscar-winning actress: Angelina Jolie. However, she rejected the role for reasons that were never shared with the press.
She won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role of Tiffany in 'Silver Linings Playbook.' Yet, Jennifer Lawrence wasn't David O. Russel's first choice.
Anne Hathaway was offered the role, but she had already agreed to be in another acclaimed movie: 'The Dark Knight Rises.' It was the scheduling and some differences with the film director, David O. Russell, that caused Hathaway to reject the role.
Although Keanu Reeves is one with Neo in 'The Matrix,' the directors of the film, Lilly and Lana Wachowski, actually had another actor in mind.
As Will Smith later revealed, he was the first casting option to give life to Neo. However, he didn't really 'get' the Wachowski sisters' project and rejected it. Was it a mistake?
The unforgettable Clarice Starling in 'The Silence of the Lambs' could have been played by a totally different actress. Jonathan Demme, the director of the film, had another actress in mind for the leading female role. Who was it?
It was later discovered that Michelle Pfeiffer was the first choice for the role. However, she found the role and the movie very dark and sinister and rejected it. It was a lucky shot for Foster who, with Clarice, won the Oscar for Best Actress.
We know that is hard to imagine another actor playing Aragorn in the award-winning saga 'The Lord of the Rings', but actually, the role had been offered to somebody else…
Unbelievable but true, Daniel Day-Lewis was the actor who could have been Aragorn in Peter Jackson's trilogy. The triple-Oscar-winning actor rejected the project, saying that he didn't want to commit to a trilogy.