Picture this: Bella Swan, looking 50 shades of pale and angsty, sitting in the cafeteria on her first day at Forks High School. Enter the Cullens, who make their way into the school in slow-motion. First, we lay our eyes on Rosalie and Emmett. Then, Alice quite literally twirls into the room with Jasper who "looks like he's in pain." And finally, the music swells as Edward Cullen and his hair coif makes their debut, played by none other than Robert Pattinson Henry Cavill.

Truly feels wrong just typing it, but turns out The Witcher star himself was Stephenie Meyer's first and only choice to play Edward in Twilight, and she was extremely upset when he aged out of the role and couldn't be cast. Honestly, though? This is just one of the mind-blowing, hilarious, and sometimes alarming movie roles that were THIS CLOSE to belonging to someone completely different. Like, can we talk about the fact that Gwyneth Paltrow almost got painted like one of Jack's French girls in Titanic?

Actually, turns out some pretty iconic movie and TV roles could have gone a whole other direction if fate (and conflicting schedules, of course) hadn't stepped in. On that note, check out 50 famous parts that almost went to 50 entirely different celebs—including the role of Monica on Friends, Allie and Noah in The Notebook, Bella Swan in Twilight (yep, her too), Neo in The Matrix, and even Rory Gilmore in Gilmore Girls.

Brad Pitt was originally cast in the movie, but turned it down last minute for Spy Game. Pretty sure Matt Damon owes him drinks for life.

Her audition scene, you ask? The iconic chemistry class where Edward is overcome by Bella's scent. As Ashley put it, “I auditioned with this chemistry scene and clearly had no chemistry.” I mean, she did get the part of Alice, so really it's a win-win.

Um, Plumette? Excuse me, Bey is main character ONLY.

The part of Glinda in Wicked ultimately went to Ariana Grande, but the audition process was grueling for Amanda. “I have dreams that I’m still auditioning for Wicked," she recently told Variety, adding, "I literally bent over backwards while playing the hardest role of my life."

The reason Emilia turned it down? She was over getting naked on camera and being "pigeonholed for life" thanks to Game of Thrones.

Yup, Eduardo (who plays Argyle in Stranger Things) initially read for the part of Eddie, which went to Joseph Quinn. But Eduardo was fine with it, telling Insider, "They made a beautiful decision. I back it a hundred percent.”

Emily Blunt was the original choice for Black Widow, but she had scheduling conflicts and had to pass on the role—which she said was a "bit of a heartbreaker for me."

Director David Leitch wanted Gaga for the role, but she was over in Italy channeling her inner Patrizia Reggiani.

Charlie was straight-up cast as Christian, but had to bow out because of a previous commitment. He told Variety that leaving the movie was "the worst professional experience of my life."

Immediate no to this idea, which apparently came from the brain of Steven Spielberg.

He was clearly meant for bigger things. ❤️

Bet she would have let Jack on the raft.

I mean, lol. But yeah, this is fully true.

She'd have loved to do the movie, but was busy falling in love with a humanoid beast, okay?

Please bask in the shade of this quote:

"My 18-year-old cannot believe that I would turn down Game Of Thrones or Downton—things she loves to watch. But if I am going to be spending that amount of time working on something I would rather be working with a director like Martin Scorsese."

Anne Hathaway actually turned down this role because she wasn't a mom herself (not yet, anyway), telling Allure, "My issue with it was that having not experienced motherhood myself, I didn't know how I was gonna feel on the other side about giving birth. And by the way, I could pop a kid out and think, Oh, well, I really should have done that movie." Fair enough.

Harry Styles auditioned but ultimately lost the role because he's, well, Harry Styles. As Baz Luhrmann put it, “Harry is a really talented actor, I would work on something with him… but the real issue with Harry is, he’s Harry Styles. He’s already an icon.”

Henry himself revealed that it came down to him and Daniel Craig. Why'd they go with Daniel? Ultimately, Henry was too young. To which I say: he is now older.

Apparently Britney's audition was so amazing it literally came down to her and Rachel McAdams—but Rachel's chemistry was so off the charts with Ryan Gosling (duh) that they went with her.

Keke Palmer tested for the role of Iris, but apparently she was too young to play against Grant Gustin (who plays The Flash, obvs!).

Someone cast him as Older Sam in a remake immediately.

Not to be dramatic, but POP CULTURE AS WE KNOW IT could have been ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.

Rihanna auditioned for the role, and director George Miller's story about it is incredible:

“Usually, actors turn up dressed very casually, but boy, Rihanna looked spectacular when she walked in. I’m not sure she was even aware of the content of the movie, so she dressed up as Rihanna, which was the right thing to do.”

Will Smith obviously wanted Willow to do the role, but she told him: "Daddy, I have a better idea, how about I just be 12."

Poor Joe was “destroyed or defeated” not to get the part :(

Taraji is a legend, but even she knew Kerry Washington was perect for the role. As she put it, "When I went in to read for Shonda Rhimes, in my mind I was like, 'This is Kerry Washington. Why am I even in here?'...It was hers."

Hi, him again. Henry was Stephenie Meyers' dream casting choice for Edward, but alas, he was too old to play a perpetual teen.

According to Ben Stiller, Jake Gyllenhaal did a "wide-eyed version of Hansel that was really funny.” Kay, but where is Taylor Swift's scarf?

They literally painted her teeth brown for the audition.

Yep, both Liam Hemsworth and Chris Hemsworth auditioned, and Chris got the part. Awkward times in the Hemsworth household.

Laurence Fishburne told Vulture that he ultimately turned down the part of Jules due to Pulp Fiction's "cavalier" and "loose" depiction of heroin use.

Hugh Grant turned down a part in Harry Potter for Two Weeks Notice. Which, to be fair, is also a magical film.

He turned it down for—wait for it—Wild Wild West. Choices were made that day.

Quentin Tarantino recently revealed that he wanted JLaw for the role, but ultimately it went to Dakota Fanning.

Was always suspicious that Lady Whistledown was responsible for the Upside Down, tbh.

It's not just that Justin Timberlake was almost cast as Mr. Schue. The part was LITERALLY WRITTEN FOR HIM.

Leo was offered $20 million to play Patrick Bateman, but apparently Gloria Steinem convinced him to turn it down.

As she put it after turning down the role, "What a stupid move that was, right?"

Lily revealed that she tested for Jenny in Gossip Girl and got "very close," saying, "My life would’ve been so different. I mean, I would’ve moved to New York. I wouldn’t have been able to finish at my high school. I mean, I was 17 or something. Oh, I wanted it so badly.”

Thandiwe turned down the role for several extremely understandable reasons, including concerns that she'd be objectified, as well as racist comments from producer Amy Pascal.

She could have saved the entire franchise had she not exited the role last minute, I said it.

The only reason he didn't get the part is because they were casting all British actors!

Mr. Gosling will see you now. Or, he would if he hadn't turned down the role.

Jeremy Strong originally auditioned for the part of Roman Roy, and—considering he is a method actor—I'm scared of what this may have involved.

*extreme Chandler Bing voice* Can you believe she auditioned for Monica?!

Will turned down the role, explaining, “It was about the creative direction of the story. To me, it’s as perfect a story as you could ever want: a guy that learns how to kill to retrieve his wife that has been taken as a slave. That idea is perfect. And it was just that Quentin and I couldn’t see [eye to eye].”

Nope, sorry, Liza Weil was simply born to play Paris Geller.

Lil' Jenny from Gossip Girl was one of the three finalists for Hannah Montana!

This way if you want his audition tape to blow your damn mind.

Tom Cruise reportedly turned the role down because Tim Burton couldn't answer how Edward went to the bathroom. Points are made.