Updated 145 Days ago

The Role of a Lifetime

We loved Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump.  Would we have loved the movie so much if John Travolta would have played Forrest? Below is a list of actors that turned down "the role of a lifetime."  For some it worked out just fine but others should have thought about it before saying no.
 
 
 
  1. Molly Ringwald - Molly Ringwald turned down the role of Vivian in “Pretty Woman” and the role of Molly in “Ghost” among others. She was also offered a part in Scream which she turned down because she was in her late 20’s and didn’t want a teenage role. Also, she was offered Leah Thompson’s role in “Some Kind of Wonderful” which she turned down severing her relationship with John Hughes.

 

 

  1. Mel Gibson - Turned down the lead role in Gladiator. A role which landed Russell Crowe the Academy Award. Mel also turned down the part of Robin Hood in “Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.” Instead, that part went to a not very belieaveable Kevin Costner.

 

 

  1. Alec Baldwin - The role of Richard Kimball in “The Fugitive” was originally offered to Alec. After he turned it down, it went to Harrison Ford.

 

 

  1. Sigourney Weaver - Turned down the role of Ada in “The Accused,” a part that later went to Kelly McGillis, and the lead role in “A Handmaid’s Tale.”

 

 

  1. Keanu Reeves turned down Charlie Sheen’s role in “Platoon.”

 

 
 
 
  1. Gillian Anderson - The former X-Files star was originally offered the role of Bethany Sloane in “Dogma.” She turned it down and the part went to Linda Fiorentino instead.

 

 

  1. Warren Beatty - Turned down the role of Jack Horner in “Boogie Nights.” The part was then offered to a smarmy looking Burt Reynolds. Warren also turned down James Caan’s role in “Misery”, the part of Gordon Gekko in “Wall Street” and Robert Redford’s role in “The Sting.”

 

 

  1. Melanie Griffith - Melanie Griffith turned down the role of “Thelma” in “Thelma and Louise.” Incidentally, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster were originally cast as Thelma and Louise but had to drop out as pre-production dragged on.

 

  1. Sarah Michelle Gellar - Scheduling conflicts prevented her from accepting the role as Cher in “Clueless.”

 

 
 
  
 
  1.   Richard Grieco - The “21 Jump Street” star turned down the lead role in “Speed” because he thought the script sucked.

 

 

  1.   Madonna - Madonna turned down Michelle Pfeiffer’s role in “The Fabulous Baker Boys.”

 

 

  1.   Denzel Washington - Turned down the role of Curtis in “Dreamgirls”, the lead in “I Robot”, and it’s rumored he turned down the role of “Ray Charles” in Ray.

 

 

  1.   Will Smith - Turned down the role that eventually went to Keanu Reeve in “The Matrix”, and the role of Stu in “Phone Booth.”

 

 
 
 
 
  1.  Julia Roberts - Turned down Sharon Stone’s leg crossing role in “Basic Instinct,” the role of Mary Corleone in “Godfather III” the role of Annie in “Sleepless in Seattle,” the lead role of “Shakespeare in Love” and the role of Lucy in “While You Were Sleeping.”

 

 

  1.  Leonardo DiCaprio - Offered the part of Dirk Diggler in “Boogie Nights” before it was given to Mark Wahlberg and the lead role in “The Matrix”.

 

 

  1.  Mark Wahlberg - Turned down the role of Linus in “Ocean’s 11″.

 

 

  1.  Tom Cruise - Before Johnny Depp made the role his own, Tom Cruise signed on to play Donnie Brasco in the film of the same name. Tom was also to play the lead role in “Footloose” and ended up turning that down as well.

 

 

  1.  Jennifer Jason Leigh - Jennifer Jason Leigh is another of the actresses who landed the role of Vivian in “Pretty Woman” and later turned it down.

 

 
 
 
  1.  John Travolata - Turned down the role of Forrest Gump.

 

 
 
  1.  Tom Hanks - Turned down the role of Ray Kinsella in “Field of Dreams,” Andy Dufresne in “The Shawshank Redemption” and the lead role in “Jerry Maguire.”
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courtesy of glamorati


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