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The Oprah Magazine

Celebrities Who Turned Down Major Movie Roles

The Oprah Magazine

January 28, 2021 at 8:46 AM

Celebrities Who Turned Down Major Movie Roles

Anne Hathaway – Alison (Katherine Heigl) in <i>Knocked Up</i>

Benicio Del Toro – Khan (Benedict Cumberbatch) in <i>Star Trek: Into Darkness</i>

Beyoncé – Plumette (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) in <i>Beauty and the Beast</i>

Charlie Hunnam – Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) in <i>Fifty Shades of Grey</i>

Chiwetel Ejiofor – C (Andrew Scott) in <i>Spectre</i>

Christina Applegate – Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) in <i>Legally Blonde</i>

Emily Blunt – Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) in <i>Iron Man 2</i>

Emma Roberts – Brit (Ashley Benson) in <i>Spring Breakers</i>

Emma Stone – Unknown role in <i>Ghostbusters</i>

Emma Watson – Mia (Emma Stone) in <i>La La Land</i>

Gwyneth Paltrow – Rose Dewitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) in <i>Titanic</i>

Hugh Jackman – James Bond (Daniel Craig) in <i>Casino Royale</i>

Jake Gyllenhaal – Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman) in <i>Suicide Squad</i>

Ja Rule – Tej (Ludacris) in <i>2 Fast 2 Furious</i>

Jennifer Hudson – Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) in <i>Precious</i>

Jennifer Lawrence – Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in <i>The Hateful Eight</i>

Kevin Hart – Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) in <i>Tropic Thunder</i>

Leonardo DiCaprio – Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) in <i>The Imitation Game</i>

Lindsay Lohan – Jade (Heather Graham) in <i>The Hangover</i>

Mark Wahlberg – Lead role in <i>Brokeback Mountain</i>

Matthew McConaughey – Ego (Kurt Russell) in <i>Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2</i>

Michael B. Jordan – Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) in <i>Straight Outta Compton</i>

Reese Witherspoon – Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) in <i>Scream</i>

Sarah Michelle Gellar – Amber (Elisa Donovan) in <i>Clueless</i>

Selena Gomez – Mitchie Torres (Demi Lovato) in <i>Camp Rock</i>

Willow Smith – Annie (Quvenzhané Wallis) in <i>Annie</i>

Will Smith – Neo (Keanu Reeves) in <i>The Matrix</i>

Zendaya – Aaliyah (Alexandra Shipp) in <i>Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B</i>

Angela Bassett – Leticia Musgrove (Halle Berry) in <i>Monster’s Ball</i>

Julia Roberts – Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow) in <i>Shakespeare in Love</i>

Tiffany Haddish – Unknown role in <i>Get Out</i>

John Lithgow – The Joker (Jack Nicholson) in <i>Batman</i>

Sean Connery – Gandalf (Ian McKellen) in <i>The Lord of the Rings</i>

John Travolta – Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) in <i>Forrest Gump</i>

Warren Beatty – Bill (David Carradine) in <i>Kill Bill Vol. 1</i> and <i>Kill Bill Vol. 2</i>

Sarah Jessica Parker – Lydia (Winona Ryder) in <i>Beetlejuice</i>

Leonardo DiCaprio – Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale) in <i>American Psycho</i>

Sandra Bullock – Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) in <i>Million Dollar Baby</i>

Michelle Pfeiffer – Catherine Tramell (Sharon Stone) in <i>Basic Instinct</i>

Jennifer Connelly – Vivian Ward (Julia Roberts) in <i>Pretty Woman</i>

Rachel McAdams – Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) in <i>The Devil Wears Prada</i>

Will Smith – Django (Jamie Foxx) in <i>Django Unchained</i>

Al Pacino – Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in <i>Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope</i>

Tom Cruise – Ren (Kevin Bacon) in <i>Footloose</i>

Tom Hanks – Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) in <i>Jerry Maguire</i>

Burt Reynolds – James Bond (David Niven) in <i>James Bond</i>

Julia Roberts – Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) in <i>Sleepless in Seattle</i>

Thomas Jane – Don Draper (Jon Hamm) in <i>Mad Men</i>

Mel Gibson – Maximus (Russell Crowe) in <i>Gladiator</i>

Celebrities Who Turned Down Major Movie Roles

It's hard to imagine Legally Blonde without Reese Witherspoon. Or what about Titanic without Kate Winslet??? But hang on to your hats, kids, because both parts almost went to completely different actors. Whether they declined because of scheduling conflicts or due to those classic "creative differences," here are 50 actors who turned down major movie roles (and some of them probably regret their decisions, to be honest!).

Paramount | The Weinstein Company | Lionsgate

So many scheduling issues!

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