We'd be kicking ourselves if we were these celebs. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for actors who opted out of roles in films that ended up having a lot of success.
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00:00We've got to understand, everyone's going to want to know about that, because everyone's thinking what was he thinking?
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for actors who opted out of roles in films that ended up having a lot of success.
00:12It wasn't like actually offered it, the script came to me, but at that time I had just gotten off of Married With Children and I felt like it was too close to what I had just been doing.
00:21Number 10. Denzel Washington, Michael Clayton, and Seven.
00:25A rookie director doesn't necessarily equate to rookie work.
00:28Denzel Washington saw that reality take form with Tony Gilroy's Michael Clayton, a film that he turned down.
00:34There's no play here. There's no angle, there's no champagne room. I'm not a miracle worker, I'm a janitor.
00:42The math on this is simple. The smaller the mess, the easier it is for me to clean up.
00:46The legal thriller would wind up being nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
00:52The actor later admitted that he let his doubts about a first-time feature director get in the way and was ultimately wrong to not take the part.
00:59I didn't trust, I'll be honest with you, I didn't trust working with a director I hadn't directed before. I was wrong.
01:04Besides Michael Clayton, Washington has expressed regret about turning down the 1995 crime thriller Seven after reading the script, which he called too demonic.
01:13Fit play. They asked me first and I just thought, nah, this is so dark. And then I saw the movie and, oh, jeez.
01:20Instead of Washington in a starring role as Detective David Mills, it was Brad Pitt.
01:29Even when expressing regret, Eddie Murphy can convey it in a hilarious way.
01:33He did just that when talking about turning down a starring role in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
01:37The only movie I ever turned down that became a big hit was Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
01:44You were gonna be in that?
01:45Cartoon, animation, and humans combined in one? We sort of get what you're saying, Eddie.
01:50Particularly given the time when this movie came out, the late 80s.
01:53But Murphy clearly figured out later that it can work, and really well.
01:57Now every time I see it, I feel like an idiot.
02:00Who Framed Roger Rabbit was a financial hit and won several Oscars.
02:04Murphy also turned down the role of Detective Carter in Rush Hour.
02:07Of course, Chris Tucker nailed that part instead.
02:09Murphy opted for a film that would turn out to be a colossal box office failure.
02:14Holy man.
02:15I don't like it.
02:18One of Sandra Bullock's biggest hits early in her career was Speed.
02:22Miss, can you handle this bus?
02:23Oh sure, it's just like driving a really big pinto.
02:26I need to know, can you handle this bus?
02:27I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine. Just tell me what the plan is.
02:30But her character, Annie, had previously been offered to someone else.
02:33Halle Berry had a chance to pounce on the opportunity early in the process.
02:37At the time, the script wasn't what it ultimately became.
02:39Could you imagine the bus and Speed not even leaving the parking lot?
02:43But in my defense, when I read the script, the bus didn't leave the parking lot.
02:48Well, that parallel film universe is what Berry thought she was signing up for.
02:51Looking back years later, she expressed some lighthearted regret about her decision.
02:55However, she eventually did get to share the screen with Keanu Reeves in another action flick.
03:00We're not going in like the old days. It's just a conversation.
03:05Nothing's ever just a conversation with you, John.
03:09Number seven, Henry Winkler, Grease.
03:11Many know him as the Fonz from Happy Days.
03:14Were you able to fix my car?
03:15Hey, I can fix anything that starts with a key and goes...
03:23Well, good. May I sit down?
03:25Oh yeah, plant yourself.
03:26Henry Winkler mastered the role to such an extent that he was bumped up to be a main character.
03:31The people wanted more Fonzie, and they got him.
03:33Winkler could have also played a too-cool greaser in the 1978 musical rom-com Grease.
03:38Is it true?
03:39Is it true?
03:40You turned down Grease?
03:42Yes, I did. I turned down Grease.
03:44No!
03:45Yes! No, I thought I had done the Fonz for 10 years. You know, I didn't want to get typecast.
03:52But it wasn't in the cards. He rejected the opportunity to play Danny Zuko,
03:56and the part later went to John Travolta.
03:58It turned out to be an iconic role in an iconic film.
04:01Winkler described his worry of being typecast,
04:03and went on to call himself a fool for not taking the part.
04:06Well, I was on drugs at that moment.
04:08And, um, no, John Travolta went on to, and not only that I can't sing,
04:12but he went on to be brilliant in Grease and bought a plane.
04:16Number six, Christina Applegate, Legally Blonde.
04:20Playing the character Elle Woods in Legally Blonde just didn't seem like the right route
04:23to Christina Applegate following the conclusion of the sitcom Married With Children.
04:27No, it's for my acting career. I'm taking an improve class.
04:32You know, improvisation where you make things up.
04:36Why don't you make up a hundred bucks?
04:38After reading the script, she viewed it as too similar to her previous work.
04:41Although she stated the role was never directly offered to her,
04:44she did end up missing out.
04:46Legally Blonde ended up being something of a cultural phenomenon.
04:49I go here.
04:50You go where?
04:52Harvard. Law school.
04:55You got into Harvard Law?
04:58What, like it's hard?
05:00However, this is thanks in large part to Reese Witherspoon's efforts as the main character.
05:04Applegate was classy about the way things unfolded, praising Witherspoon in an interview
05:08and making some funny comments on Watch What Happens Live.
05:10No, I don't regret it because Reese Witherspoon did a much better job than I ever could,
05:15and she has now way more money than I do and way more success.
05:19And so why would I, why would I even regret that?
05:22Number five, Bruce Willis, Ghost.
05:25When given a chance to star as Sam Wheat in the supernatural romance film Ghost,
05:29Bruce Willis' sixth sense was telling him something wasn't right.
05:32I'm so sorry, Anna.
05:35I just can't seem to keep track of time.
05:41And I didn't have a very good session today.
05:43A dead guy involved in a romance seemed peculiar to him.
05:47The role went to Patrick Swayze.
05:48Ghost turned out to be the third highest grossing film ever at the time of its release.
05:52It was nominated for several Academy Awards as well.
05:55Can I help?
05:56Yeah, get him wet.
06:00Now just let the clay slide between your fingers.
06:05Willis later labeled himself a knucklehead for turning it down.
06:08Before the turn of the century, another film involving similar supernatural elements was
06:12on the table, The Sixth Sense.
06:14Willis seized the opportunity that time.
06:16Of course.
06:17Number four, Will Smith, The Matrix.
06:20Keanu Reeves was the benefactor of Will Smith turning down the role of Neo in The Matrix.
06:24I know Kung Fu.
06:28Show me.
06:28The science fiction film became hugely influential as well as garnering critical
06:32praise and commercial success.
06:34But Smith wasn't moved by the unique special effects the Wachowskis pitched when discussing
06:38the Fresh Prince's potential involvement in the movie.
06:40And we're going to invent these cameras and then people can see the whole jump while
06:45you stop in the middle of the jump.
06:52So I made Wild Wild West.
06:54So what did he do instead of The Matrix?
06:56Far from his most notable work.
06:57He opted for Wild Wild West.
06:59But he wasn't the only big name to turn down the role of Neo.
07:02Brad Pitt did as well.
07:03The Matrix also could have had Madonna, but she turned down the role of Trinity.
07:06I was given the script to The Matrix.
07:09I was offered the role of Trinity.
07:13Yeah, and I read the script.
07:16I'm like, this is the stupidest I've ever read in my life.
07:20Number three, Sean Connery, The Lord of the Rings franchise.
07:24Turning down the role of Gandalf meant Sean Connery missed out on a big-time film series
07:28and a whole lot of money.
07:29With an alleged $30 million per film offer, plus a cut of the box office, the James Bond
07:34actor could have reportedly earned more than $400 million by playing Gandalf.
07:38Gandalf?
07:39Bill Morgan.
07:40Dear Gandalf.
07:41Goodness.
07:42Obviously, Connery had built an impressive career already and didn't need to be Gandalf
07:49to make his stamp on the industry.
07:51But for many people, it's safe to say that if they could wave a magic wand and earn the
07:55opportunity to play Gandalf for that kind of money, they'd do it.
07:58Where are you going?
07:59There's some things that I must see to.
08:01What things?
08:02Questions.
08:03Questions that need answering.
08:05Number two, Matt Damon, Avatar.
08:07James Cameron offered a lucrative deal to Matt Damon in hopes that the actor would agree
08:11to play the starring role of Jake Sully in his epic science fiction film, Avatar.
08:16I don't regret any of the movies that I've done or the choices that I've made.
08:20You know, everything shapes who you are and the next thing that's going to happen to you.
08:26Damon opened up about why he turned it down, setting his filming schedule for the Bourne
08:29franchise.
08:30Other than that, there was an actual scheduling conflict, so I literally couldn't do it.
08:35In terms of just how much money Damon missed out on, we're taking in the hundreds of millions.
08:39Instead of Damon, it was Sam Worthington who assumed the role of Jake and found himself
08:44as an integral part of a blockbuster series.
08:46This is Jake Sully.
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09:05Number one, Matt Damon, Avatar.
09:08The actor who played the role of Jake Sully in the film, Avatar, is a well-known actor
09:12Number one, Burt Reynolds, Star Wars franchise and James Bond franchise.
09:18Being offered roles in two of the most iconic film franchises of all time in Star Wars and
09:23James Bond is no small feat.
09:30That's what happened to Burt Reynolds, but he turned down both opportunities.
09:33With a chance to play Han Solo, Reynolds just figured science fiction wasn't up his alley.
09:42As for Bond, an opportunity to play the title character was on the table.
09:54However, he felt like he wasn't the right fit given he was American, not British.
09:59Later in his life, Reynolds expressed some regrets about his decisions, but hey,
10:02his career wasn't too shabby without them.
10:07Is there an actor's decision that you wish went differently?
10:10Let us know in the comments.
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