These Iconic Movie and TV Roles Almost Went to Someone Else

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.