The Backstory: Stars Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles

Hollywood is a tough business. Stars take roles in movies they come to hate . . but equally as frustrating are the roles they take a pass on . . that make somebody else rich and famous. This is all about stars who turned down roles in movies like Titanic, Forrest Gump, The Godfather, Silence of the Lambs, and more.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, you know the Robert Frost poem The Road
Not Taken. It's about decision making, right, Well, sometimes we're
happy with the choice we made, and sometimes not so much.
Recently we talked about movies actors regretted making, but backstory
listener Terry Michelle was interested in actors who'd turned down
roles and really regretted doing so. Imagine taking a pass

(00:23):
on Titanic, The Matrix, Forrest Gump, or Silence of the Lambs.
I'm Patty Steele when the Road or Roll Not Taken
was a really crummy choice. That's next on the backstory.
The backstory is back when we're trying to figure out
a path forward in our lives or careers, it's easy

(00:46):
to second guess yourself, right, did I make the correct choice?
What would have happened if I took the other fork
in the road? But rarely is it as crystal clear
as it has been for some actors who've been offered
a role said no thanks, and then watch the filmmaker,
as well as the actor who did take the part,
go on to make something not only hugely successful but

(01:08):
even iconic. It doesn't necessarily destroy careers, but it sure
can give your self confidence of bruising. Titanic is one
of the most successful movies of all time, winning eleven
Academy Awards, including Best Picture, taking in over two point
two billion dollars just at the box office. So how
do you look at the possibilities and then turn down

(01:31):
a starring role in a flick like that? Gwyneth Paltrow
apparently said no to Rose. She does say I can't
change the past, but I look back at the choices
I've made, and I think, the hell did I say
yes to that and no to that? I guess there's
a universal lesson here, and she's not the only one
who said no thanks. Claire Danes was also one of

(01:52):
the top choices for Rose, but ultimately turned it down
because she had just starred in nineteen ninety seven's Romeo
and Juliet with Leo DiCaprio and didn't want to repeat.
But who the heck remembers Romeo and Juliet, says Claire.
I was really clear about it. I wasn't conflicted. I
wanted different creative experiences and that would have propelled me

(02:14):
towards something I knew I didn't have the resources to
cope with okay. When it comes to the role of Jack.
Johnny Depp said no, thanks because he just didn't like
the story. On the other hand, Matthew McConaughey thought sure,
he had aced the audition and he wanted the role
of Jack, and while he never would have turned it down,
it finally went to Leo DiCaprio. Another star who turned

(02:38):
down a role in Titanic Hugh Grant. He was offered
the part of cal Rose's Piece of Garbage fiance. He
said no to it. It went to Billy Zane. Sometimes
actors turned down a role because they feel the message
of the movie isn't something they can get on board with.
Perfect example Michelle Pfeiffer, who was offered the part of

(02:58):
Clarice Starling in Silence of the Lambs, which of course
finally went to Jodi Foster. Michelle says she turned it
down because she was uncomfortable with the film's violence against women,
but she says she does wish she could have worked
with the director, Jonathan Demi. Another one of the things
actors worry about when choosing what films to do is typecasting.

(03:20):
If I play an action hero, will movie studios think
that's the only thing I'm good for if I play
a villain, while I only get offered bad guy roles.
Christina Applegate was offered the role of el Woods illegally
Blonde before Reese Witherspoon got it. She says, I turned
it down because I got scared of kind of repeating
myself what a stupid move that was. Right, At least

(03:44):
she's honest. Will Smith was really worried about being typecast
and decided to turn down the part of Neo and
the Matrix, which ultimately went to Keanu Reeves, and he
said he didn't think it was going to be successful
because of the pitch. He said it was really confusing,
admits that was a bad decision. And here's one that's
sort of hard to imagine. John Travolta was offered the

(04:07):
role of Forrest Gump before it was finally given to
Tom Hanks. Instead, he opted to do another incredibly successful
movie that same year, pulp Fiction. Travolta says it was
a mistake to pass on Forrest, but he says doing
pulp fiction was fun and rewarding, and he loves what
Tom Hanks did with the Forest role. None of this

(04:28):
is unusual. In fact, Travolta himself also turned down the
role of American Jigglow, which became a huge flick for
Richard gear and Tom Hanks may have played Forrest Gump,
but he turned down the lead in Jerry Maguire. Then
there's The Godfather. Jack Nicholson turned down the role of
Michael Corleone. Why. He says he thought the roles should

(04:50):
have been played by an Italian and it did go
to al Pacino. When Tim Burton was brought on to
direct Batman in the late nineteen eighties, they wanted John
Lithgow to play the joker. He told him no thanks,
later saying that at the time he thought, who the
heck is gonna want to see a movie about Batman?
Jack Nicholson got the part, and of course the rest

(05:11):
is history. Another misfire Bruce Willis, who was married to
Me Moore when she made Ghost. He was offered the
lead role in that film. A few years later, he
told The New York Times he was a knucklehead for
turning it down. He said, I just didn't get it.
I told him, Hey, the guy's dead. How are you
going to have a romance with a dead guy? Famous

(05:33):
last words huh. And can you imagine anybody playing Hans
Solo in Star Wars other than Harrison Ford. That part
was originally offered to al Pacino. He turned it down,
he says, because he found the script to be confusing. Really,
the decision about who the studios offered parts to has

(05:53):
a lot to do with getting us, the fans, to
simply put our eyes on the finished product. They like names.
At the same time, the actors worry about the artistic challenge,
their reputation and whether they believe in the vision. And
at the end of the day, they all worry about money.
Gotta make it to keep doing your thing. The award,

(06:15):
by the way, for the biggest financial mistake from turning
down a flick that has to go to Matt Damon.
He was offered ten percent of the gross profit for
playing Jake Sully in Avatar. He turned it down, but
he would have earned as much as two hundred and
fifty million dollars if he had taken the deal. Hey,
we all come to forks in the road. In fact,

(06:37):
it happens to most of us many times. And yes,
the path we choose can make all the difference, for
better or for worse. But it's interesting to look at
all these films and imagine them with these alternate actors.
And here's the thing you got to ask, would any
of those films have been as successful with different stars?

(06:58):
I mean, just imagine Titanic's Jack and Rose played by
Matthew McConaughey and Gwyneth Paltrow. Once again, I want to
thank Backstory listener Terry Michelle for suggesting this storyline. I
hope you're enjoying the Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave
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(07:21):
if you have a story you'd like me to cover.
Like Terry Michelle. On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on
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(07:45):
Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer
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(08:06):
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