2.Whitney Houston was cast as Sondra, the oldest daughter on The Cosby Show, but she didn't end up signing the contract because she wanted to pursue a singing career.
3.Joshua Bassett was one of the final two choices for Harvey Kinkle in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, but the role ended up going to Ross Lynch.
4.Octavia Spencer auditioned to play Donna on Parks and Recreation, but the role ended up going to Retta.
5.Sandra Oh was originally called in to audition for Dr. Miranda Bailey on Grey's Anatomy, but she liked the part of Cristina more, so she asked if she could audition for that role instead.
6.Stephanie Beatriz screen-tested for Amy Santiago on Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but Melissa Fumero was cast instead.
7.Connie Britton was one of the network's choices to play Olivia Pope in Scandal, but creator Shonda Rhimes insisted Olivia should be played by a Black woman instead.
8.Taraji P. Henson was another famous person who went in to read for the role of Olivia Pope.
9.Darren Criss auditioned to play Finn Hudson on Glee, but the part went to Cory Monteith instead.
11.Keke Palmer screen-tested for the role of Iris on The Flash, but she didn't end up getting it because she looked "a little too young" compared to Grant Gustin.
15.Iwan Rheon originally auditioned for Jon Snow on Game of Thrones and didn't get the role. He eventually got called in to play Ramsay Bolton in Season 3.
16.Lucy Hale actually auditioned for Hannah Montana when she was 15 and still lived in Tennessee, which was years before Miley Cyrus eventually got cast.
17.Wesley Snipes was originally approached to play Lucious Lyons on Empire, but Taraji P. Henson said she'd only star on the show if Terrence Howard was cast instead.
18.Chris Colfer originally auditioned to play Artie Abrams on Glee, but that role went to Kevin McHale. However, Ryan Murphy loved Chris so much that he created the role of Kurt just for him.
19.Jeremy Strong auditioned for the role of Roman Roy on Succession, but Jesse Armstrong, the show's creator, felt that Kieran Culkin was a "slam dunk."
20.Rob Lowe was originally offered the role of Derek Shepherd on Grey's Anatomy, but he turned down the role and it went to Patrick Dempsey instead.
21.Madchen Amick was in the running for Gilmore Girls' Lorelai Gilmore, but she didn't get the job because the network didn't think she was old enough to play a mom.
22.Sonequa Martin-Green auditioned for the part of Michonne on The Walking Dead, but the role ended up going to Danai Gurira. However, the producers loved her so much that they created the role of Sasha for her.
23.Matt LeBlanc was offered the role of Phil Dunphy on Modern Family, but he felt like he wasn't the best fit. The role went to Ty Burell instead.
24.Mahershala Ali auditioned for the role of "a merchant who got locked in a safe on Season 3" of Game of Thrones, aka Xaro Xhoan Daxos, and he said it was one of the "worst auditions" of his life.
25.Oliver Hudson was in the final running for Jack Pearson on This Is Us, but by the time he was scheduled to screen-test with Mandy Moore, Oliver went on an already-planned fishing trip instead.
26.Joshua Jackson was originally announced to play Owen Hunt on Grey's Anatomy, but just weeks before he was scheduled to shoot his first episode, the TV writers went on strike. By the time the strike ended, Joshua had already moved on to star on Fringe.
27.Betty White was actually supposed to play Blanche on The Golden Girls, but director Jay Sandrich felt that part was too similar to Betty's role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, so she played Rose instead.
28.Macaulay Culkin was pursued several times to play a role on The Big Bang Theory, but he couldn't see himself starring on a sitcom.
29.Penn Badgley screen-tested to play Jesse Pinkman on Breaking Bad, but the role went to Aaron Paul instead.
30.Liza Weil originally auditioned for Rory Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. The producers loved her but didn't think she was right for the role, so they created Paris Geller for her instead.
31.And finally, Courteney Cox was originally offered the role of Rachel on Friends, but she turned it down because she felt like she related to Monica more.
So, which almost-casting were you most shocked by? Let us know in the comments!
