20 Times Actors Thought They Had A Role In A Movie, Only For All Or Most Of Their Scenes To Be Cut

I can't believe we were robbed of Paul Rudd going on a rampage swearing at kids around an ice rink in Bridesmaids.

When we see who's been cast in a certain film, there's always a level of excitement or anticipation to see who they're playing. But sometimes, when the film comes around we're left thinking, "did we miss something?"

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So, here are 20 times that, for some reason or another, actors got all or most of their scenes cut from a movie.

1. Tobey Maguire – Life of Pi

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What happened to Tobey Maguire here may be the most Hollywood definition of a back-handed-compliment, when all of his scenes were cut because he was deemed too famous for his small part in the movie. 

He’d been cast as the writer who interviewed Pi in the future and had even shot the scenes, but when watching it back, the director thought his stardom was taking attention away from the story: 

"I misjudged the situation," says Lee. "I underestimated the power of stars."

"I love Tobey. But it's a small part," he adds. "So when it's a movie star sitting there, it captures attention. It didn't really work out." 

They had to reshoot Tobey's scenes with Rafe Spall instead (kind of a forehanded insult to Rafe, but I'm sure he was grateful nonetheless). 

Here's the scene:

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2. Katherine Langford – Avengers: Endgame

Walt Disney Studio Motion Pictures

You'd think it would be rather hard to have your scene cut from one of the highest-grossing films of all time, but Katherine seemed to be fairly upbeat about it. She insisted that she wanted "whatever is best for the film" and that she didn't want to be in the scene that stuck out "like a sore thumb."

Katherine shot a scene as the older version of Tony's daughter after he'd snapped his fingers, in the metaphysical limbo that we'd seen before, but it never made it to the movie. Despite being an emotional and sentimental scene, the Russo brothers thought it didn't really work with the ending, and it was eventually cut. 

Of course, fans got to see it in the deleted scenes, which Katherine was pleased about! 

You can see the deleted scene here:

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Skip to around 02:00.

3. Uma Thurman – Savages

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When you're adapting a book into a film there are always tricky decisions to make, and for Oliver Stone, that meant cutting all the scenes of one of the film's biggest stars, Uma Thurman. That's right, we were robbed of a Pulp Fiction reunion! 

Blake Lively, who Uma was supposed to be playing the mother of, had this to say about the cutting of Uma's character: "It’s a shame that you will miss that, in the movie. It was really beautiful stuff with Uma Thurman, and I think it really told a lot more of how a girl could end up this way." 

4. Kiki Layne – Don't Worry Darling

Warner Bros. Pictures

If you've seen Don't Worry Darling you'll know that Kiki was actually in the movie, and her character was even the catalyst for Florence Pugh's character's suspicions rising. However, Kiki confirmed in an Instagram post that she and Ari'el Stachel's scenes (they played a couple) were mostly cut from the much-talked-about movie. What was left of their scenes was mainly just on the periphery. Still, though, she said she's thriving despite the disappointment. 

Instagram: @kikilayne

5. Amy Poehler – Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

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Amy Poehler's part in the original Anchorman was within a whole subplot that was actually axed for the cinema release of the movie. In it, Amy played a bank teller whose bank was being robbed by Maya Rudolph's gang. Amy wasn't surprised that her cameo was cut, she said: 

“I was a young gal, hadn’t even got my teeth fixed, and I played a bank teller that Maya Rudolph and her gang robbed. Even back then, I was like, ‘This movie is so long, I’m never going to make it in this.'”

Amy's hilarious cameo, and the whole subplot, luckily did have their own DVD release the same year the original came out, which consisted of the outtakes and cut scenes, it was called Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie.

Here's the frankly hilarious scene:

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6. Paul Rudd – Bridesmaids

Universal Pictures

Paul Rudd's part in the movie was to be a seemingly perfect blind date for Kristen Wiig's Annie (before he went on a deranged rampage around an ice rink, swearing at kids). I think we can all say that we'd have LOVED to see that make the final cut, but sadly some scenes just have to go. 

Director Paul Feig described cutting Rudd's scenes from the movie as "that terrible moment when you have to kill your babies." He also said that it was one of the funniest things he'd ever seen, but, due to the film running so long, and there already being a love triangle, the blind date had to go. 

Here's some of the deleted scene:

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7. Ellen Pompeo – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Focus Features

Ellen Pompeo played Joel's ex-girlfriend Naomi, who's mentioned but not seen in the final version of the film. What's interesting about these deleted scenes, a lot of which feature Naomi, is that their inclusion or withdrawal significantly changes how we perceive Joel. 

We can only assume that the directors cut the scenes with Ellen because they wanted to change how we saw Joel, and they certainly succeeded! Film Rader produced a video essay with the deleted scenes added back in to show how they impact the movie as a whole, and it's fascinating! It's unfortunate for Ellen, but it probably was necessary to cut her in order to make the film what it became!

Check out the deleted scenes in this video essay:

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8. Robert Pattinson – Vanity Fair

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It's often a shame when an actor gets cut from a movie, but we (and Robert) may have this disappointment to thank for his rise to stardom. He had filmed scenes as Reese Witherspoon's character's son in the 2004 movie Vanity Fair, and it wasn't until he went to the screening and saw the movie that he realised he'd been cut. 

But on him being cut, Robert said: "The casting director...felt so guilty...that she gave me first run at the part in Harry Potter, so I was quite glad I got cut, in the end."

So, perhaps it was for the best after all! 

9. Rachel Weisz – To the Wonder

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One director who's not afraid or unaccustomed to cutting stars, no matter their stature, is Terrence Malick, and his film To the Wonder is one that saw Rachel Weisz, Amanda Peet, Michael Sheen, and Barry Pepper's characters all cut out of the final edit. 

It seems as though the actors half-expected this to happen, perhaps due to his reputation and their limited time on set. Weisz clearly wasn't too bitter about it, saying "I had the experience of working with him [Malick] but I will not have the pleasure of seeing my work."

10. A whole bunch of people – The Thin Red Line

20th Century Fox

On Terrence Malick, perhaps one of his most ruthless role-cutting endeavours came in his star-studded war film The Thin Red Line. Despite already boasting an array of Hollywood's finest, the likes of Mickey Rourke, Bill Pullman, Jason Patric, Gary Oldman, Lukas Haas, Viggo Mortensen, and Martin Sheen were discarded to the cutting room floor. 

Due to his track record, It's probably easier to handle when you get cut by Malick, but that wasn't the case for Mickey Rourke, who was devastated to have been left out. Mickey believed it was some of the best work he ever did, and that it was his wild behaviour that contributed to him being cut. 

11. Viggo Mortenson – The Purple Rose in Cairo

Jemal Countess / Getty Images

The Thin Red Line wasn't the first film to somehow cut Viggo's scenes, because the same thing happened to him in Woody Allen's 1985 film The Purple Rose in Cairo. What's worse is the stressful experience Viggo was put through during the actual filming, all for it to be for nothing! 

He was told he'd gotten a part in the movie after his audition, but not told what the part was. He still had no idea what he was supposed to be doing for the part by the time he arrived on set, where the scene was a huge party. 

Viggo explained what happened: "He goes, 'Okay, let's shoot.' And I go, 'Mr. Allen? Sir? What am I supposed to do?' 'You just follow his lead. You'll be alright.' And I'm freaking out. I have no idea what the story's about."

Sadly, he didn't appear in the film, despite telling his family beforehand. He'd go on to do just fine though, of course! 

12. Harrison Ford – E.T

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Harrison's girlfriend at the time was a screenwriter on E.T, and he'd obviously worked with Steven Spielberg a year earlier on Indiana Jones, so he agreed to play Elliot's principal in a brief cameo. 

Even though you can't see his face in the scene, his iconic point and his voice are enough to know it's Harrison. However, because it seemed rather out of place, the scene was eventually cut – a star as huge as Harrison was somewhat of a distraction from the narrative. Still, though, it was a great experience for Henry Thomas (Elliot) to meet one of his heroes! 

Here's the cameo:

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13. Andy Garcia – Passengers

Sony Pictures Releasing

If you saw the trailer for Passengers, you'd have seen a clip of Andy Garcia walking through some doors. Little would you have known, however, that this scene would be the Oscar-nominated actor's only appearance in the movie. 

This "highbrow cameo" was due to the multiple endings that they filmed (because they couldn't figure out how to end it). And it turns out the one they eventually landed on practically eradicated Andy's character from the movie entirely. 

The screenwriter who'd been working on the movie for nearly 10 years said this: 

“Sticking this ending was one of the trickiest parts of the film. There was a version where we wandered around the aftermath of their lives a little bit longer and the viewpoint character who took us on that walk was the captain of the ship. That's not what ended up on screen, what we have now is an extraordinary highbrow cameo.” 

Here's that highbrow cameo:

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14. Andy Garcia – Dangerous Minds

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Passengers wasn't the first time Andy had been cut from a movie, it also happened in the 1995 film, Dangerous Minds. On this occasion, however, Andy himself clearly agreed with the decision, because he didn't see his character as necessary from the beginning. 

He was cast as Michelle Pfeiffer's character's love interest, one that he didn't think the story needed: 

"They wrote up a whole arc for this relationship and we played it out; I had a great time. We shot the whole relationship and then it was determined later on that it was really unnecessary in the storyline, which is what I said to begin with. But I did cash the cheque!" 

15. Sienna Miller – Black Mass

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Even though Sienna had described her role as more of a cameo, she had spent time nailing the south Boston accent for a role that wouldn't even make it into the final cut. 

She'd been cast as the girlfriend of real-life gangster Whitey Bulger, but director Scott Cooper made a late decision to focus more on Bulger's early life, which his girlfriend Catherine Greig wasn't around for. Hopefully Sienna got good use out of the Southie accent that she didn't end up getting to show off! 

16. Jena Malone – Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice

Warner Bros.

Batman fans were feverishly debating who Jena would be portraying when she was seen on the set of Batman Vs Superman. There was speculation about Batgirl, Robin, and various DC universe characters she could play. It turns out, however, that she was playing Jenet Klyburn, Jenet was a reasonably unimportant character in the comics, and one whose scenes could only make it into the director's cut. 

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17. Kevin Costner – The Big Chill

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Kevin Costner's scenes in The Big Chill have become something of film folklore – all that remains of the actor in the movie is a part of his dead body. Kevin played Alex, whose funeral is where the story begins.

Jeff Goldblum, who played Michael, said they'd filmed flashbacks of the whole group at college, Kevin included. It seems as though the scenes are lost for good, so we'll have to take Jeff's word for it that Kevin was "wonderful" as Alex. 

18. Michelle Monaghan – Constantine

Warner Bros. Pictures

Michelle does appear in the movie, but she had a much larger role at first. She was initially playing the love interest of the main character, but they actually decided that Constantine (Keanu Reeves) would work better if he was alone, and had no companionship in his life. 

What's worse is that they then got Michelle back in so they could shoot her in some more scenes for the movie, only for those scenes to be cut too!

The only bit that got in was the sprinkler scene, a scene that she really didn't like, according to director Francis Lawrence, who said: "She hated that moment, and it ended up being the only moment of her in the movie after two attempts at various scenes."

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19. Tim Roth – Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

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Tim had already worked with Tarantino, and, in Quentin's words is "one of the gang", so I doubt he was too peeved that his character in Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood was cut out of the final edit. He was supposed to play the part of Jay Sebring's British butler, or as Tarantino described it "his British gentleman's gentleman." 

There was talk of a four-hour version of the movie being available on Netflix, which would include Roth's scenes (as well as many more), but we're still waiting on that! 

20. Matthew Fox – World War Z

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The ending of World War Z  was famously redone, with Paramount rumoured to have spent around $20m on reshooting. Sadly for Matthew Fox, his role in the movie didn't make this second iteration of the ending.

It was a shame for Matthew, as his character –who was supposed to save the Lane family during the chaos – would most likely have been developed in future sequels, but his cutting from the original took that off the table. 

Thumbnail credits: Mike Pont/WireImage via Getty Images, Mike Marsland/WireImage via Getty Images, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures. 

Know any other actors that had their scenes cut from movies? Let us know in the comments below!