17 Actors Who Rejected Major Roles That Became Hugely Successful

year ago

Trying to find the stars of a movie can sometimes take a long time and a lot of rejections before you actually find the perfect fit. An actor might not like the script or not have time on their schedule for filming. That’s why producers always have alternative actors in mind. And sometimes these other options turn out to be much better than the original ones.

1. Brad Pitt in The Matrix

© The Matrix / Warner Bros. and co-producers, © everett225 / Depositphotos

2. John Travolta as Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump

© Forrest Gump / Paramount and co-producers, © Richard Goldschmidt / Wikimedia Commons, © CC BY 3.0

3. Marilyn Monroe in Breakfast at Tiffany’s

© Breakfast at Tiffany's / Jurow-Shepherd and co-producers, © marilynmonroe / Instagram

4. Mel Gibson as Maximus in Gladiator

© Gladiator / DreamWorks and co-producers, © Alan Light / Wikimedia Commons, © CC BY 2.0

5. Madonna in The Matrix

© The Matrix / Warner Bros. and co-producers, © madonna / Instagram

6. Natalie Portman as Adaline in The Age of Adaline

VILLARD / NIVIERE / SIPA / East News, © The Age of Adaline / Lionsgate and co-producers

7. George Clooney as Noah Calhoun in The Notebook

© Leatherheads / Universal Pictures and co-producers, © The Notebook / New Line Cinema and co-producers

8. Julia Roberts as Margaret Tate in The Proposal

© The Proposal / Walt Disney Studios and co-producers, © TODAYshow / Twitter

9. Matt Damon in Avatar

© Avatar / Twentieth Century Fox and co-producers, Invision / Invision / East News

10. Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick in The Mummy

STIEFLER / BABIRAD / SIPA / East News, © The Mummy / Universal Pictures and co-producers

11. Jim Carrey as William ’Buddy’ Hobbs in Elf

© Elf / New Line Cinema and co-producers, © Ace Ventura: Pet Detective / Warner Bros. and co-producers

12. Jack Nicholson as Michael Corleone in The Godfather

© The Godfather Part II / Paramount and co-producers, © The Shining / The Producer Circle Company and co-producers

13. Sarah Jessica Parker as Vivian in Pretty Woman

HBO / Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection / East News, © Pretty Woman / Touchstone Pictures and co-producers

14. Leonardo DiCaprio as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho

© American Psycho / Sony Pictures and co-producers, © Inception / Warner Bros. and co-producers

15. Anne Hathaway as Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook

© Silver Linings Playbook / The Weinstein Company, © Looking Glass Films / Wikimedia Commons, © CC BY 3.0

16. Nathalie Emmanuel as Selina in Batman

Invision / Invision / East News, © The Batman / Warner Bros. and co-producers

17. Sean Connery as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings

© The Lord of the Rings / New Line Cinema and co-producers, © Comet Photo AG / Wikimedia Commons, © CC BY-SA 4.0

Preview photo credit The Matrix / Warner Bros. and co-producers, everett225 / Depositphotos

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