Alternate Casting Choices
by mateusch | created - 05 May 2015 | updated - 05 May 2015 | PublicActors and actresses originally considered for popular roles
1. Tom Selleck
Actor | Blue Bloods
Thomas William Selleck is an American actor and film producer, best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator "Thomas Magnum" on the 1980s television series, Magnum, P.I. (1980).
Selleck was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Martha (Jagger), a homemaker, and Robert Dean Selleck, a...
Henry "Indiana" Jones for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): He almost played Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark before Harrison Ford signed on.
2. Will Smith
Producer | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Willard Carroll "Will" Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has enjoyed success in television, film, and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him "the most powerful actor in Hollywood". Smith has been nominated for five Golden ...
Thomas Anderson / Neo for The Matrix (1999): He turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix to do Wild Wild West, Keanu Reeves signed on and the rest is history.
3. Leonardo DiCaprio
Actor | Inception
Few actors in the world have had a career quite as diverse as Leonardo DiCaprio's. DiCaprio has gone from relatively humble beginnings, as a supporting cast member of the sitcom Growing Pains (1985) and low budget horror movies, such as Critters 3 (1991), to a major teenage heartthrob in the 1990s,...
Anakin Skywalker for Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002): He was the frontrunner to play Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones before Hayden Christensen was ultimately cast.
4. Dougray Scott
Actor | Ever After
Born in Scotland, trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where he was named most promising drama student. Scott's early work was in Scottish national theatre and television, first appearing in the series Soldier Soldier as well as on the stage in the Tim Fleming directed production ...
James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine for X-Men (2000): He was originally cast as Wolverine in X-Men due to production for Mission: Impossible II taking longer than expected, he quit before shooting his scenes and was replaced by Hugh Jackman.
5. Tom Cruise
Actor | Top Gun
In 1976, if you had told fourteen-year-old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be Tom Cruise, one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to join the priesthood. ...
Anthony "Tony" Stark / Iron Man for Iron Man (2008): He was the frontrunner to play the character during the early Noughties when the film was in development but turned down the role and luckily Robert Downey Jr. was cast for the 2008 film.
6. Bill Murray
Actor | Lost in Translation
Bill Murray is an American actor, comedian, and writer. The fifth of nine children, he was born William James Murray in Wilmette, Illinois, to Lucille (Collins), a mailroom clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II, who sold lumber. He is of Irish descent. Among his siblings are actors Brian Doyle-Murray, ...
Bruce Wayne / Batman for Batman (1989): When the Batman film was in development during the 1980s as a superhero comedy, Ivan Reitman was considered to direct the film with Murray as Batman, but when Tim Burton became director, he chose Michael Keaton for the role and the rest was well, history.
7. Sylvester Stallone
Actor | Rocky
Sylvester Stallone is an athletically built, dark-haired American actor/screenwriter/director/producer, the movie fans worldwide have been flocking to see Stallone's films for over 40 years, making "Sly" one of Hollywood's biggest-ever box office draws.
Sylvester Stallone was born on July 6, 1946, ...
Kal-El / Clark Kent / Superman for Superman (1978): Stallone said in an interview that he auditioned for the role but Marlon Brando, who played Jor-El in the film turned him down and then Christopher Reeve was ultimately cast.
8. Toshirô Mifune
Actor | Yôjinbô
Toshiro Mifune achieved more worldwide fame than any other Japanese actor of his century. He was born in Tsingtao, China, to Japanese parents and grew up in Dalian. He did not set foot in Japan until he was 21. His father was an importer and a commercial photographer, and young Toshiro worked in ...
Obi-Wan Kenobi for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977): George Lucas, who is a fan of Akira Kurosawa's work, considered casting Mifune as Kenobi before casting Alec Guinness for the role.
9. Chris Pratt
Actor | Guardians of the Galaxy
Christopher Michael "Chris" Pratt was born on June 21, 1979 in Virginia, Minnesota and raised in Lake Stevens, Washington, to Kathleen Louise (Indahl), who worked at a supermarket, and Daniel Clifton Pratt, who remodeled houses. He is of mostly Norwegian descent. He graduated from Lake Stevens High...
James T. Kirk for Star Trek (2009): Pratt said that he auditioned for the role of Kirk, but did not make it to the callbacks, which resulted in Chris Pine getting the role.
10. LL Cool J
Actor | Deep Blue Sea
L.L. Cool J was born James Todd Smith in Bay Shore, Long Island, New York, the son of Ondrea Griffith and James Louis Smith, Jr.
Todd, as he was called, did not have a very happy childhood. At the age of four, he saw his mother and grandfather shot by his own father. After they recovered from their ...
Eric Brooks / Blade for Blade (1998): The rapper-actor was interested in playing the anti-hero when the film was in development in 1992, but ultimately Wesley Snipes was cast.
11. Jake Gyllenhaal
Actor | Nightcrawler
Jake Gyllenhaal was born on December 19, 1980 in Los Angeles, California as Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal, the son of producer/screenwriter Naomi Foner and director Stephen Gyllenhaal, and the younger brother of actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He is of Ashkenazi Jewish (mother) and Swedish, English, and ...
Peter Parker / Spider-Man for Spider-Man 2 (2004): When Tobey Maguire suffered back injuries during filming of Seabiscuit, Sony were unsure he would recover so they considered replacing Maguire with Jake Gyllenhaal for the then-forthcoming sequel.
12. Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Actor | Inception
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt was born February 17, 1981 in Los Angeles, California, to Jane Gordon and Dennis Levitt. Joseph was raised in a Jewish family with his late older brother, Dan Gordon-Levitt, who passed away in October 2010. His parents worked for the Pacifica Radio station KPFK-FM and ...
Scott Lang / Ant-Man for Ant-Man (2015): Gordon-Levitt was in the running to play Ant-Man along with Paul Rudd, who ultimately got the role.
13. Angela Bassett
Actress | Strange Days
Captivating, gifted, and sensational, Angela Bassett's presence has been felt in theaters and on stages and television screens throughout the world. Angela Evelyn Bassett was born on August 16, 1958 in New York City, to Betty Jane (Gilbert), a social worker, and Daniel Benjamin Bassett, a ...
Ororo Munroe / Storm for X-Men (2000): Bassett was a strong contender for the role when the film was in preproduction during 1998-99 before Halle Berry was cast.
14. Sissy Spacek
Actress | In the Bedroom
As a kid, Sissy Spacek climbed trees, rode horses, swam, and played in the woods. She was born Mary Elizabeth Spacek on December 25, 1949, in Quitman, Texas, to Virginia Frances (Spilman) and Edwin Arnold Spacek, Sr., a county agricultural agent. Her father's family was of Czech and German origin.
...
Princess Leia Organa (born Leia Amidala Skywalker) for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977): Spacek auditioned for the role as the casting process was shared with Brian DePalma's Carrie, she got ultimately got the role of Carrie White for the latter, while Carrie Fisher got the role for the former.
15. Rene Russo
Actress | Nightcrawler
Rene Russo was born in Burbank, California, to Shirley (Balocca), a barmaid and factory laborer, and Nino Russo. Her father, a sculptor and mechanic, left the family when Rene was just two, and thus her mother raised Rene and her sister, Toni, as a single mom. Her father was of Italian descent, and ...
Chase Meridian for Batman Forever (1995): When Tim Burton was still director, he set his sights on casting Russo for Dr. Meridian, but after his and Keaton's departure due to Warner's decision to go family friendly, she was replaced by Nicole Kidman.
16. Janet Jackson
Soundtrack | Poetic Justice
Janet Damita Jo Jackson was born on May 16, 1966 in Gary, Indiana, to Katherine Jackson (née Katherine Esther Scruse) and Joe Jackson, a musician. She is the youngest of ten children. Before her birth, her brothers formed a band later called The Jackson 5. She lived at home with her sisters, while ...
Trinity for The Matrix (1999): Jackson said that she was approached for the role but had to turn it down due to tour commitments and said that it was difficult for her, while Carrie-Anne Moss was the Trinity that people saw in the film.
17. Kate Hudson
Actress | Almost Famous
Almost everyone who has spent time with Kate Hudson -including directors, family members, co-stars and interviewers - is quick to comment on her ability to light up a room. Through some combination of a winning smile, solid work ethic, and good old-fashioned talent, the young actress has gone from ...
Mary Jane Watson for Spider-Man (2002): Hudson was considered for the role as Spider-Man's love interest but signed on for The Four Feathers and then Kirsten Dunst was cast instead.
18. Emily Blunt
Actress | Edge of Tomorrow
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt is a British actress known for her roles in The Devil Wears Prada (2006), The Young Victoria (2009), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and The Girl on the Train (2016), among many others.
Blunt was born on February 23, 1983, in Roehampton, South West London, England, the second of ...
Natalie Rushman / Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow for Iron Man 2 (2010): Blunt was cast as the Russian American superheroine but quit to do The Wolfman, so Scarlett Johansson was cast later.
19. Scarlett Johansson
Actress | Lost in Translation
Scarlett Ingrid Johansson was born on November 22, 1984 in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Her mother, Melanie Sloan is from a Jewish family from the Bronx and her father, Karsten Johansson is a Danish-born architect from Copenhagen. She has a sister, Vanessa Johansson, who is also an actress, ...
Evey Hammond for V for Vendetta (2006): Johannson along with Keira Knightley were considered for the role before Natalie Portman was cast.
20. Natalie Portman
Actress | Black Swan
Natalie Portman is the first person born in the 1980s to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Black Swan (2010)).
Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born doctor, and Shelley Stevens, an ...
Juliet Capulet for Romeo + Juliet (1996): Portman was cast as Juliet for Baz Luhrmann's modern adaptation but quit during production due to executives felt that she lacked chemistry with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio, so Claire Danes replaced her.
21. Winona Ryder
Actress | Little Women
Winona Ryder was born Winona Laura Horowitz in Olmsted County, Minnesota, and was named after a nearby town, Winona, Minnesota. She is the daughter of Cynthia (Istas), an author and video producer, and Michael Horowitz, a publisher and bookseller. Her father's family is Ukrainian Jewish and ...
Mary Corlone for The Godfather Part III (1990): Ryder was originally cast for the role, but dropped out due to exhaustion, so Francis Ford Coppola did a stupid choice by casting his daughter Sofia for the role, a known case of nepotism.
22. Sean Young
Actress | Blade Runner
Mary Sean Young was born on November 20, 1959 in Louisville, Kentucky. She is the daughter of Lee Guthrie (née Mary Lee Kane), an Emmy-nominated producer, screenwriter, public relations executive, and journalist, and Donald Young, Jr., an Emmy award winning television news producer and journalist. ...
Vicki Vale for Batman (1989): Young was cast as Vale in the 1989 film but due to a horse riding accident, she was replaced by Kim Basinger.
23. Sharon Stone
Actress | Basic Instinct
Sharon Stone was born and raised in Meadville, a small town in Pennsylvania. Her strict father was a factory worker, and her mother was a homemaker. She was the second of four children. At the age of 15, she studied in Saegertown High School, Pennsylvania, and at that same age, entered Edinboro ...
Frances "Baby" Houseman for Dirty Dancing (1987): Stone auditioned for the role along with Sarah Jessica Parker before Jennifer Grey got the role.
24. Angelina Jolie
Actress | Maleficent
Angelina Jolie is an Academy Award-winning actress who rose to fame after her role in Girl, Interrupted (1999), playing the title role in the "Lara Croft" blockbuster movies, as well as Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Wanted (2008), Salt (2010) and Maleficent (2014). Off-screen, Jolie has become ...
Ryan Stone for Gravity (2013): Jolie was originally cast as Stone when the film was in development, but had to drop out due to filming her directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey, so Sandra Bullock got the role fair and square.
Tell Your Friends