25 Very Famous Actors Who Turned Down Iconic Movie Roles, And Yup, Some Of Them Really Regret It Now

    Marilyn Monroe, not Audrey Hepburn, was who they wanted to cast as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

    Brian Galindo
    by Brian Galindo

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. Jim Carrey as Buddy the Elf in Elf.

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    The script for Elf was first written in 1993, and at the time, Carrey was attached to star in it. However, the movie did not immediately go into production, and by the time it did in 2003, Carrey was no longer interested in the role. In fact, he had already starred in a very successful Christmas movie, 2000's How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

    2. Marilyn Monroe as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

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    It's impossible to think of anyone else other than Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly — I mean, you can't even think of Audrey Hepburn and not think of her in this role. Well, if it had been up to the author of the books on which the movie is based, Truman Capote, it would have been Monroe. In fact, he wrote the novella with her as the character in mind. Even the movie's screenwriter, George Axelrod, wrote the script tailored to her.

    Monroe was actually talked out of taking the role by her acting coach, Lee Strasberg — he felt that playing an escort would be bad for her image.

    When Hepburn was cast, Capote remarked: "Paramount double-crossed me in every way and cast Audrey."

    3. Claire Danes as Rose in Titanic.

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    In an interview with Dax Shepard on his podcast, Armchair Expert, in 2020, Danes was asked if it was true that she turned down the role. According to her, there was "strong interest" in her for the part — she had just done Romeo + Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio, so reuniting them onscreen seemed like a natural fit — but she knew the movie was going to be a huge hit, and she was "not ready for that." So, she took herself out of consideration.

    4. Tom Hanks as Jerry Maguire in Jerry Maguire.

    Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival, Columbia Tristar / Getty Images

    Tom Cruise gave an Oscar-nominated performance as the titular character, but the film's writer-director, Cameron Crowe, had another Tom in mind when he wrote the script: Tom Hanks.

    Hanks had to turn down the role because he was busy also being a writer-director with his directorial debut movie, That Thing You Do!

    5. Harrison Ford as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park.

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    According to the film's director, Steven Spielberg, Ford was his first choice to play the role. During a 30th-anniversary screening of Raiders of the Lost Ark, while sitting next to Ford, Spielberg told the crowd, "You know who I offered Jurassic Park to? This guy. Alan Grant, Jurassic Park, right here."

    6. Oscar Isaac as Freddie Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody.

    Tommaso Boddi / WireImage / Getty Images, Photo Credit: Nick Delaney / 20th Century Fox Licensing/Merchandising / Everett Collection

    Isaac said in a 2021 interview with ABC Audio that he passed on playing Freddie Mercury because he thought at the time that nobody would want to "see somebody pretend to be Freddie Mercury." He then went on to say, "And then, sure enough — everybody wanted to see someone do Freddie Mercury."

    However, he is okay with passing on it because he "could never have done what Rami Malek did."

    7. Julia Roberts as Annie Reed in Sleepless in Seattle.

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    In a 2014 interview with InStyle, Roberts shared that she had been offered the part, but that she couldn't do it. She went on to say Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks were both a "jewel of a fit in that."

    8. Jack Nicholson as Michael Corleone in The Godfather.

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    In a 2004 interview with Movieline, the legendary actor was asked if there was ever a movie he turned down because he knew he wasn't right for the role, even though he knew it would be a hit. Nicholson replied with The Godfather, saying, "Back then, I believed that Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians. Mario Puzo had written such a great book that if you go back to it, you'll see so much of what was special about the movie. There were a lot of actors who could have played Michael, myself included, but Al Pacino was Michael Corleone. I can't think of a better compliment to pay him."

    9. Halle Berry as Annie Porter in Speed.

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    Berry and Keanu Reeves costarred together in 2019's John Wick: Chapter 3, but they could have been in a film together decades earlier. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Berry revealed that she had been offered Sandra Bullock's role in Speed. She also went on to say that she regretted turning it down, saying, "I stupidly said no. But in my defense, when I read the script, the bus didn’t leave the parking lot. I was like no, no, no, no. Then, I see the movie, and I’m like, 'Arrrrghh.'"

    10. Hugh Jackman as James Bond in Casino Royale.

    Lisa Maree Williams / Getty Images, Sony Pictures / ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

    In a 2022 interview with IndieWire, Jackman revealed that he turned down the offer to play James Bond in Casino Royale because he was already playing Wolverine, and that if he took on Bond as well, he wouldn't have time to do anything else.

    11. Viggo Mortensen as Wolverine in X-Men.

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    A few years before he would star in The Lord of the Rings films, Mortensen met with the film's director, Bryan Singer, about playing the iconic character. However, he felt unsure about taking the role because he didn't like the idea of having to commit to playing the same character for the next several years. Mortensen's decision to not play the role was cemented when his son Henry — an X-Men fan who he took to the meeting with him — told him the script was "wrong."

    12. Reese Witherspoon as Sidney Prescott in Scream.

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    Drew Barrymore was famously the first choice to play Sidney, but decided instead to play Casey Becker in the now-iconic opening scene. This left producers scrambling to recast the role, and one of the actors who was offered the part was Witherspoon, who ended up turning it down. But really, you can't imagine anybody other than Neve Campbell in the role.

    13. Liam Neeson as Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln.

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    Daniel Day-Lewis was always Steven Spielberg's first choice to play Lincoln, however he turned him down. Spielberg then cast Neeson (reuniting the two who had previously worked together on Schindler's List), however when it eventually came to the table read, Neeson had an overwhelming feeling he was totally wrong for the role. And on top of that, he was still mourning the loss of his wife Natasha Richardson — who had died just a month before. He went on to not do a great read, and when it was over, he spoke with Spielberg and told him he needed to recast it.

    Neeson said that when he finally saw the film, he thought Day-Lewis was "f-in’ Abraham Lincoln" and perfect.

    14. John Travolta as Forrest Gump in Forrest Gump.

    Sarah Morris / Getty Images, Paramount / ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

    Travolta has actually turned down several big movie roles throughout his career that ended up going to either Tom Hanks or Richard Gere (Splash and American Gigolo are just two examples). When he was offered the role of Forrest, he turned it down in order to star as Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction.

    In 2007, MTV asked him: "Do you have any regrets? Like, 'Oh, if I had done Forrest Gump or Chicago, what might have been?'" to which Travolta replied, "No, because if I didn't do something Tom Hanks did, then I did something else that was equally interesting or fun. Or, if I didn't do something Richard Gere did, I did something equally well. But I feel good about some I gave up because other careers were created."

    15. Michelle Pfeiffer as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs.

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    Pfeiffer had just worked with the film's director, Jonathan Demme, on Married to the Mob, and she was his first choice for the role — in fact, he thought Jodie Foster was wrong for the role. Pfeiffer passed on the role, citing that the script was too dark and that she was "trepidatious." Foster would go on to win her second Best Actress Oscar for playing the role.

    16. Leonardo DiCaprio as Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights.

    Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for Netflix, New Line Cinema/ Everett Collection

    In a 2008 interview with GQ, DiCaprio said he regretted having to turn down the role of Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights in order to star in Titanic. But for the record, DiCaprio doesn't regret starring in Titanic 'cause it allowed him to have the career he's had since. He just wishes he could have done both films.

    17. Madonna as Catwoman in Batman Returns.

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    Michelle Pfeiffer’s portrayal of Catwoman isn't just one of the best comic book performances ever, but arguably one of the best in cinematic history. However, she wasn't the first choice for the role. In a 2021 appearance on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon asked Madonna if the long-standing rumors that she had turned down the role were true, to which she replied that it was and that she regretted it.

    18. Amanda Seyfried as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy.

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    In a 2020 interview with the Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, Seyfried revealed she turned down the chance to star in Guardians because she didn't want to be "part of the first Marvel movie that bombed." While she thought the script was great, she didn't think audiences would want to see a movie "about a talking tree and a raccoon."

    19. Robert Redford as Clark Kent/Superman in Superman.

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    Reportedly, Redford was very close to taking the role, but he ended up passing because he wanted more money and the script wasn't finished yet.

    20. Jennifer Hudson as the title character in Precious.

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    In a 2012 interview with Huff Post, Hudson cleared up the rumors that she had turned down the role of Precious just because it required her to gain weight, stating that in the draft of the script she read, the character was going places she didn't want to go.

    21. Jennifer Lopez as Connie Sumner in Unfaithful.

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    In a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair, Lopez revealed that she had been offered the part. But according to her, the script "wasn’t all the way there" when she got the offer. Lopez went on to say, "Diane Lane was so perfect for it, and it was obviously meant to be her, but when I think about that…I want to literally, like, shoot my toe off. I do."

    22. Brad Pitt as Neo in The Matrix.

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    At the 2020 Santa Barbara International Film Festival (which happened in January 2020 in case you were wondering), Pitt was asked if there ever was an important movie he turned down. He said The Matrix and specifically the role of Neo and then added, "I took the red pill. That's the only one I'm naming."

    23. Sandra Bullock as Neo in The Matrix.

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    Yes, Neo! In 2019, the film's producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura, revealed they had a really hard time casting the role of Neo, and that they had approached so many people for it who turned it down. He had previously worked with Bullock on 1993's Demolition Man, and thought she would be good for it and that they would change Neo into a woman. Bullock, of course, passed on it, with di Bonaventura saying, "It just wasn’t something for her at the time. So really, it didn’t go anywhere."

    24. Eddie Murphy as Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

    George Pimentel / WireImage, Buena Vista Pictures / ©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

    During an appearance on The Tonight Show in 2019, Murphy said that the only movie he ever turned down that became a big hit was Who Framed Roger Rabbit. He went on to say that at the time, he didn't understand the mixture of animation and live-action, and that he now feels like an "idiot" every time he sees it.

    25. And lastly, Rachel McAdams as Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada.

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    McAdams was the first choice to play Andy Sachs. According to the film's director, David Frankel, the studio wanted an established actor to play the role, but McAdams turned them down three times. Eventually, of course, the role went to Anne Hathaway, who in an appearance on RuPaul's Drag Race in 2021, revealed that she was actually the ninth choice for the role.