Those actors who gave the idea of returning in a TV reboot/revival a hard pass.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00From now Hollywood icons not feeling as though it'd be possible to catch lightning in a bottle
00:05twice, to legendary vampire slayers feeling there's no story left to tell for them anymore,
00:11these are the actors who gave a reboot of their TV show a hard pass. Gareth here from
00:16whatculture.com and here are 10 actors who have turned down TV reboots.
00:21Number 10, George Clooney ER. Back before he'd ever donned a pair of bat nipples,
00:26the ball of charisma that is George Clooney first made his presence known in an NBC medical drama by
00:32the name of ER. And while the Hollywood A-lister would ultimately kiss goodbye to his character
00:37of Dr. Doug Ross all the way back in 1999, before making the odd cameo appearance,
00:42it's clear his work on the show struck a chord with fans the world over, leading to many
00:47understandably trying to will a reboot of the Emergency Room series back into existence over
00:52the years. However, the last time Clooney sat down and reunited with his one-time castmate in 2021
00:58for a charity chat, the Academy Award winner confessed that he didn't think a reboot of
01:03the show was possible, largely due to it now being difficult to produce another series at the level
01:08the team once did. Simply put, the superstar actor just felt it would be hard to capture lightning in
01:13a bottle twice, with co-star Juliana Margulis also admitting that it was probably wise to leave
01:18what was so beautiful and move on. So despite the late Michael Crichton's wife admitting that she
01:24loved the idea of a revival of the show creator's passion project, it looks as though this cast's
01:29days of running around a hospital on the small screen are over.
01:329. Zachary Quinto Heroes Reborn
01:35Alongside his brilliant iteration of everyone's favourite USS Enterprise officer Spock in the rebooted
01:41Star Trek film series, Zachary Quinto is probably best known for his compelling work as the superpower-stealing
01:47figure known as Sylar in Heroes. Yeah, when it became clear that the folks behind the NBC hit
01:52show were gearing up to bring the series back into existence after five years away, a conversation
01:58with show creator Tim Kring soon brought with it the realisation that Quinto was very much happy to
02:03leave Sylar in the rearview mirror. Though he'd go out of his way to explain how he loved the job and
02:08people he worked with during his meaningful experience whilst occupying the hero sphere, the star just
02:13didn't want to go back, and confessed to wanting to cultivate other outlets for himself.
02:18As it goes, Quinto was probably wise to give this heroic reunion a miss in the end, with Heroes
02:23Reborn eventually underwhelming and not earning itself a second season.
02:278. Michael Ontkian
02:29Twin Peaks
02:30A lot can change in 25 years, and while that time did bring with it a cult following for the surreal world
02:36of Twin Peaks, it also left the series without its sheriff when the time came to unleash a long-awaited
02:42revival in 2017. That's because during that long period between the show's cancellation after its
02:47second season back in 1991, none other than Sheriff Harry S. Truman himself, Michael Ontkian,
02:53only went and decided he'd had enough with the balmy world of acting. So when David Lynch and Mark
02:58Frost were finally all set to bring their mysterious property back to the small screen midway through
03:02the 2010s, the team behind the show were forced to change direction a touch when it came to the role
03:07of Town Sheriff in Season 3. Oddly enough, the actor tasked with stepping into those law enforcement
03:12shoes was actually once being eyed up for the role of Harry in the lead-up to its initial ABC run,
03:18with Robert Forster not being able to accept the role due to being attached to another pilot at the
03:22time. Everything worked out in the end though, as the late actor ultimately arrived in Twin Peaks as
03:27Sheriff Frank Truman, Harry's brother.
03:307. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen
03:32Fuller House
03:33In the wake of bursting onto the scene at a young age as part of ABC's eventual hit Full
03:38House sitcom, Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen soon became all-round superstars, making their film
03:44debut shortly after the series came to an end and ultimately going on to become fashion icons and
03:48successful businesswomen. But with the stars turning their attention largely away from the acting
03:53industry over the last few decades, it didn't come as that much of a surprise to hear of the Olsen
03:57twins passing up on the chance to return to the Netflix revival of the show that catapulted
04:02them to superstardom. After not appearing in front of a camera since she was 17 at the time
04:06of Fuller House going into production, Ashley would reportedly admit that she didn't feel
04:11comfortable acting anymore, whilst Mary Kate was seemingly slightly interested in a Michelle
04:16comeback at first, though would eventually also join her sister in turning down the return,
04:21saying the timing just wasn't right for them.
04:23With the Olsen's committing much of their time at that point to the designing of the Row and
04:27Elizabeth and James lines, it's not hard to see why a Fuller House appearance would have
04:31been hard to squeeze in. But their absence as Michelle Tanner still couldn't stop the sequel
04:35series lasting five whole seasons before its conclusion in June 2020.
04:406. Cole and Dylan Sprouse – The Suite Life of Zack and Cody
04:44Speaking of child stars who seemingly won't be appearing in a reboot of the family TV show
04:49that made them famous, Cole Sprouse has gone on record on a number of occasions to shoot down
04:53the concept of himself and brother Dylan ever resuming their suite life in the coming years.
04:58Noting on the Drew Barrymore show that reboots are a tricky thing, the Riverdale star confessed
05:03that he regularly finds himself being asked by fans whether the twins will be up for reuniting
05:08for a revival of the hit Disney show, only to reply with a swift, no, absolutely not.
05:14The Cody Martin actor would also explain during a The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon appearance
05:18that there's a ton of potential to demolish that perfect little golden memory of a programmer,
05:23if all involved opted to revisit it down the line. And brother Dylan has also confidently
05:28stated the duo won't be returning to the show again too, so don't expect to see the Martin
05:33boys check back into the Tipton Hotel anytime soon.
05:365. Kim Cattrall and Just Like That
05:38After six seasons and two movies of bringing the tri-sexual force of nature that is Samantha
05:43Jones to life for fans entertainment, you can't exactly blame Kim Cattrall for wanting
05:48to retire from her most famous role to pursue other compelling parts. But the Golden Globe winning
05:53star's decision to turn down a third Sex and the City film, and Cattrall making it clear that her
05:58Samantha days were done from there on out, still couldn't stop the rest of the original cast from
06:02reuniting for a sequel series down the road. In fact, Cattrall has been so vocal about not wanting
06:08to add anything else to her legacy as Jones, that she wasn't even asked to be a part of And Just Like
06:14That, with the actor revealing to Variety that she only heard about the series via social media.
06:18And for those still hoping to see the return of Cattrall's outspoken Sex and the City figure one
06:23day, with Jones still being referenced in And Just Like That, that's a no was her position on the
06:28matter as of 2022.
06:304. Steve Carell, The Office, USA
06:33While he has since gone on to enjoy quite the glittering dramatic career on the big screen,
06:38it's still hard to look past Steve Carell's side-splitting work as the largely incompetent
06:42Dunder Mifflin boss Michael Scott as the role he'll forever be best known for. And with the series
06:47Finding Another Life as one of the most re-watched sitcoms ever to greater streaming service in the
06:52wake of its finale in 2013, it was only natural to assume that a revival of sorts would be at
06:57least discussed as time went by. However, in Carell's mind, the show just wouldn't be able to
07:02be the same thing it was back when they were creating it all those years ago, with the Academy
07:06Award-nominated Thespian admitting that he has absolutely no desire to play Scott again. Again,
07:11it's not as though Carell didn't absolutely adore his time working on the hit that was adapted from
07:16the original British series, even going as far as to class it as a special thing before people
07:21thought it was a special thing. But Carell just doesn't think the odds are in their favour when it
07:25comes to recapturing the magic of that glorious initial run. That's what he said.
07:303. Jeanette McCurdy, iCarly
07:32By the time Paramount Plus decided to give a generation of iCarly fanatics the return they'd
07:37been waiting for in 2021, Jeanette McCurdy was very much over all things Sam Puckett.
07:42The star, who would also reprise the role on Sam and Cat, actually confessed to quitting acting
07:47altogether a few years before news of the iCarly revival broke, stating on her Empty Inside podcast
07:53that she wanted to try her hand at writing and directing. On top of this, McCurdy would also
07:57confess that when it came to acting in general, she initially didn't want to do it, with the
08:02child star's mother throwing her into the business at age 6. And by the time she was 10 or 11,
08:06the young actor was the main financial support for her family. So you can only imagine the sheer
08:12amount of pressure that must have brought about for someone just entering their teens.
08:16McCurdy would even go as far as to admit that she was ashamed of the part she did in the past,
08:20claiming she was already embarrassed about her role in the Nickelodeon show at the age of 15.
08:25All this ultimately led to the actor telling her co-star Miranda Cosgrove that she wouldn't
08:29be doing the reboot as McCurdy felt her mental health and happiness were more important than the
08:33money she could have made from a comeback. 2. Sarah Michelle Gellar Buffy the Vampire Slayer
08:38Despite officially reaching its conclusion, Chex notes, a whopping 20 years ago, the appetite
08:44for another set of adventures centered around Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy Summers is still as strong
08:49as ever. Unfortunately for those angling to see the titular Vampire Slayer dive back into the much-loved
08:54supernatural world, with her fellow Scooby gang members though, Gellar has confessed to having zero
08:59interest in battling evil forces in a revival of the hit series. Gellar is incredibly proud of the
09:04work she helped create the first time around, and just feels that a reboot doesn't need to be done.
09:09That's not to say that the Scream 2 and Scooby-Doo style would be against the series continuing the
09:14tale without her, however. In fact, the every girl who has the power can have the power message sent out
09:18as the show drew to a close, means that it's set up perfectly for someone else to have the power,
09:23as far as Gellar is concerned. While this most certainly acts as the definitive nail in Buffy
09:28Summers Coffin, perhaps Gellar's blessing will finally lead to the series actually being brought
09:32back from the dead, with a new Slayer after being put on pause last August.
09:371. David Hyde Pierce – Frazier
09:39Delighting Frazier fanatics the world over back in 2021, when it was officially confirmed that
09:44Kelsey Grammer would be back for a revival of the long-running sitcom smash on Paramount+,
09:49said news actually turned out to be rather bittersweet, upon eventually learning about another
09:53star who wouldn't be along for the rebooted ride. According to the Dr. Frazier
09:57Crane actor himself, Grammer's co-star David Hyde Pierce won't be joining him when the sequel
10:02series does finally land on the streaming service. Simply put, Hyde Pierce just wasn't all that
10:07interested in repeating the work he'd already done as Frazier's younger brother Niles on the series.
10:12But far from completely derailing the project altogether, his eventual lack of involvement
10:16was said to have resulted in the series being taken to a new place, according to the clearly excited
10:21leading man. And for those wondering whether the show will just completely no-sell the absence of
10:26Niles or any other characters not set for a return, Grammer was also quick to note that we'll
10:30certainly be responsive about the fact there was a brother and such. At a glance though,
10:35this is very much shaping up to be a new world for Frazier, and one that has already reduced
10:39Grammer to tears upon a first read-through of the script. We're not ready folks, we're just not.
10:44And that's our list of any other actors who have turned down TV reboots? Let us know all about them
10:48in the comments section right down below, and do not forget to like, share, and click on that
10:52subscribe button while you're at it. Also, if you like this kind of thing, then head on over to
10:56whatculture.com and find some more incredible articles, just like the one this video you're
11:00watching right this second is based on. I've been Gareth from whatculture.com, thank you as
11:04always for watching this lovely video today. Hopefully I'll see your faces very, very soon,
11:08but in the meantime, just be good to yourself. Bye-bye!