Actors that were originally suppose to play a role in the movie...

[Flashy]

Harrison Ford turned down the lead in

Jurassic Park
Misery
The Perfect Storm
Traffic
Schindler's List


Robert Redford was the #1 choice to play Michael Corleone before Pacino got it eventually.

he also was the #1 to play the Cassavetes role in Rosemary's Baby

 

[Flashy]

Renee Zelwegger was supposed to play the Helena Bonham Carter role in Fight Club, but said it was too dark.

Pacino Turned down "taxi Driver"

 

[cdarro]

Annette Bening was the first choice to play Catwoman in Batman Returns. She became pregnant and the role went to Michelle Pfeiffer.

In the Star Trek movies, Kirstie Alley (who played Saavik in ST II) was replaced by Robin Curtis in ST III because of Alley's contract demands. Don't know if either was considered for the part eventually played by Kim Cattrall in ST VI.

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

Tom Selleck was originally slated to plat Indianna Jones in Raiders of the lost ark, but was at that time still hooked with Magnum PI. Harrison Ford stepped in to take over.

 

[elegant20]

I can't imagine Selleck as Indiana Jones. I only picture Harrison Ford in the role.

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

I can't imagine Selleck as Indiana Jones. I only picture Harrison Ford in the role.

Well, Selleck would've done it(He only did a test screen afterall!), but the producers from Magnum P.I. had to be pricks and not let him go on this one thing and get out of his contract.
Weirdest thing is- Both Selleck and Ford don't have dissimilar acting styles, so picturing either one in Raiders would've been easy.

 

[earllogjam]

Julie Andrew was supposed to play the lead in My Fair Lady but it went to Audrey Hepburn. They had to dub her singing voice.

 

[elegant20]

I noticed that, too, about My Fair Lady.

 

[elegant20]

A little bit of trivia, but most of the Norma Shearer roles in some of her movies is what Joan Crawford was after in a heartbeat. Joan didn't want to saddled with mediocre parts. She wanted Norma's roles instead.

 

[elegant20]

Anymore? C'mon, people. There has to be more than that.

 

[Novaboy]

Julie Andrew was supposed to play the lead in My Fair Lady but it went to Audrey Hepburn. They had to dub her singing voice.

Julie Andrews was not known in Hollywood. She was a huge Broadway star but had not yet made a film. Jack Warner of Warner Bros. wanted a big box office draw and hired Audrey Hepburn. Later that year Julie made Mary Poppins and won the oscar for best actress. She thanked Jack Warner in her speach for making it possible for her to play Mary instead of Eliza!

 

[Novaboy]

Joan Crawford turned down From Here To Eternity. The part went to Deborah Kerr instead.

A back injury forced Claudette Colbert to back out of All About Eve. The part went to Bette Davis and made history.

 

[Novaboy]

Mae West was the first choice of director Billy Wilder to play Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd. A lucky break for Gloria Swanson.

 

[D_Portelay Porquesword]

Tom Cruise turned down the leading role that Angelina Jolie later took on in "Salt".



SALT

 

[BobLeeSwagger]

Stuart Townsend was originally cast to be Aragorn in "Lord of the Rings". Peter Jackson decided after a few days that he was all wrong for it and replaced him with Viggo Mortensen.

Burt Lancaster supposedly turned down a long list of famous rules, including "Ben Hur" (Charlton Heston), Patton (George C. Scott), and Dirty Harry (Clint Eastwood).

Brad pit was considered for the role of neo in the matrix but Keanu reeves eventually got the role.

will smith was also considered for the role of neo but turned it down and signed on to "wild wild west." he really should have gone with "the matrix" instead.

Will Smith is on the record as saying that he's glad he didn't get "The Matrix". He felt he would have screwed up the role. But that might just be him rationalizing it after the fact. It's also easy for him to say, since he's become a megastar anyway.

Tom Selleck was originally slated to plat Indianna Jones in Raiders of the lost ark, but was at that time still hooked with Magnum PI. Harrison Ford stepped in to take over.

Ironically, production on the first season of Magnum hadn't started yet at the time, but was scheduled to. It was delayed for so long that Selleck actually could have filmed Raiders before Magnum started taping, but no one knew that at the time.

 

[shyguy1985]

John Gavin was signed up to play James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. United Artists wanted Sean Connery back, money no object so Gavin was paid up.

Pierce Brosnan was supposed to take over as James Bond in 1986 after Remington Steele got cancelled. Brosnan becoming Bond created so much public interest that Remington Steele got re-issued and Brosnan had to film a final series.

Timothy Dalton was offered the James Bond role in 1968 but turned it down as he felt he was too young.

James Bond geek here!!

 

[Bbucko]

A little bit of trivia, but most of the Norma Shearer roles in some of her movies is what Joan Crawford was after in a heartbeat. Joan didn't want to saddled with mediocre parts. She wanted Norma's roles instead.

Norma was married to Irving Thalberg, which meant that she could cherry pick every decent role being considered by MGM. Joan was right to be pissed about that, but her anger turned to a nasty bitterness that did no one (least of all her kids) any good at all.

Johnny Depp turned down the Tom Cruise role in Interview with a Vampire

Johnny Depp is scheduled to star in Tim Burton's upcoming big-screen remake of Dark Shadows: he'll make a hell of a Barnabas Collins, and I'll bet Helena Bonham Carter will make a fabulous Julia Hoffman, the only one better than the late, great Grayson Hall.

In her autobiography, Gloria Swanson says that she left Hollywood (at the time for good) when she was unable to get financing for her production of Dark Victory (she owned the rights) in a telephone tantrum, pulling the phone right out of the wall. Bette Davis won an Oscar for it a few years later.

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

In Enter The Dragon, actor Shih Kien who played Han, knew vrtually no english, and actor Keye Luke was called in to dub his voice over Kien's who only learned to mouth english for the camera.

 

[Mickactual]

Hugh Laurie was originally supposed to play Daily Planet editor Perry White in "Superman Returns" (the role ultimately went to Frank Langella).

 

[B_lrgeggs]

Julie Andrews was not known in Hollywood. She was a huge Broadway star but had not yet made a film. Jack Warner of Warner Bros. wanted a big box office draw and hired Audrey Hepburn. Later that year Julie made Mary Poppins and won the oscar for best actress. She thanked Jack Warner in her speach for making it possible for her to play Mary instead of Eliza!

Originally, Ernest Borgine was considered for the title role of My Fair Lady...or was it Mary Poppins? Either way he turned both roles down
and did the McHale's Navy television series instead.