He's not in the spotlight as much nowadays, but Kevin Smith's films and their influence on modern cinema can't be denied. Breaking onto the indie circuit with his debut feature Clerks—which he also co-starred in—Smith led the way for many young filmmakers looking to be in show business. While he's done everything from writing comics and hosting podcasts to television work, it's in film that he's made his name. Sure, not everything he's made is great, but you can't deny Smith's passion and excitement for the medium.
That excitement extends to the actors he's gotten to work with over time. Smith's been open about the actors he loves working with and the ones he doesn't—looking at you, Bruce Willis!—and there's been a number of actors he's almost gotten to be in his films, but they either had to pass on due to scheduling issues or other reasons. Here, we'll be looking at some familiar faces who came close to working with Silent Bob himself.
Charlie Sheen as Federal Wildlife Marshal Willenholly (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back)
The notorious Charlie Sheen was offered the role of Wildlife Marshal Willenholly, who relentlessly pursues the titular stoners in 2001's Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, but declined before shooting because apparently he had trouble connecting with the character. Sheen's no stranger to playing idiots, as Scary Movie 3 will show you, but Will Ferrell—who's perfected the lovable goof act down to an art form—embodied the character so perfectly that it's hard to see anyone else in the role. Maybe Sheen figured he couldn't do the role justice. Ferrell was still on Saturday Night Live at the time, and, while the film wasn't a huge success, it helped expose him to a larger audience.
Samuel L. Jackson as Rufus (Dogma)
Smith originally had Jackson in mind to play Dogma's Rufus, the 13th apostle, before going with Chris Rock after meeting him. Jackson probably would have had a ball reciting Smith's dialogue, and watching him tell off Jason Mewes's Jay throughout the movie would have been incredible, but Rock was great and hysterical in the role regardless.
This wasn't the only time Jackson and Smith almost worked together, as Smith offered the Oscar-nominated actor John Goodman's role in 2011's Red State, though salary issues caused Jackson to decline the part.
David Duchovny as Cock-Knocker (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back)
Smith had met with Duchovny during the production of Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, with Smith wanting to cast the X-Files actor in the minor but scene-stealing role of Bluntman and Chronic's nemesis Cock-Knocker. Duchovny read the script and thought it was absolutely hysterical, but scheduling conflicts with both X-Files and the film Evolution forced him to drop out of it.
Never one to be deterred, Smith replaced one sci-fi icon with another. Mark Hamill took over the role, resulting in the best (and only) blunt saber battle of all time. As much as we would have loved to see what Duchovny would have done with this role—would the scene have been more X-Files-related? Could he have gotten Gillian Anderson to make a cameo—we think we're pretty happy with what we got.
Jon Stewart as Banky Edwards (Chasing Amy)
Upon pitching his third film Chasing Amy at the then still respectable Miramax Films, Smith was told that he could make it for a budget of three million dollars, but he would need to cast David Schwimmer, Jon Stewart, and Drew Barrymore, all of whom had deals with the studio at the time, in the roles he'd written for Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, and Joey Lauren Adams, respectively. Smith fought to keep his actors though, successfully making the film for a slightly lower budget of two million.
While it's hard to picture him as Banky, Stewart would later join the View Askewniverse as a newscaster in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, so things worked for him overall.
Bill Murray as Ollie Trinke (Jersey Girl)
While some consider Jersey Girl one of Smith's lesser films, it has gotten more love in recent years thanks to its sweetness and wry approach to fatherhood. When Smith first wrote the script, he envisioned comedy legend Bill Murray in the role of workaholic father-to-be Ollie Trinke. What a very different film that would have made. After meeting with then-buddy Ben Affleck about new projects they could work on, he dusted off the script and rewrote Ollie to be much younger so that Affleck could play him, instead.
Rachel Weisz as Becky Scott (Clerks II)
Clerks II executive producer and not-yet-disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein told Smith he needed to cast a name actress in the role of Becky Scott, Dante Hicks's boss and love interest. Some of the actresses Smith met with included Sarah Silverman, who loved the script but wanted to play Randall instead, Bryce Dallas Howard, who passed on the script to do Lady in the Water, and Ellen Pompeo, who was forced to decline due to Grey's Anatomy commitments. Rachel Weisz was one name Smith considered, but she never got a formal offer for the part; Smith figured she would turn the movie down, anyway. As we all know, Rosario Dawson was cast and ended up being a perfect fit.
It sounds weird at first, picturing the normally drama and thriller-centric Weisz in one of Smith's raunchy comedies, but similarly-esteemed actor Alan Rickman was in Dogma and didn't stand out too much there. Weisz would later show off her comedic chops in 2018's The Favourite.
Rosario Dawson as Miri Linky (Zack and Miri Make a Porno)
Smith had a blast working with Dawson on Clerks II, so much so that he wrote the role of Miri in Zack and Miri Make a Porno with her in mind. Dawson, unfortunately, had to drop out due to conflicts with Eagle Eye at the time. Elizabeth Banks signed on to replace her and did a great job in the part, though we imagine Dawson probably could have done just as well had scheduling not been an issue.
Quentin Tarantino as Guy Lapointe (Tusk)
Tusk is probably the most bizarre film Smith's ever made, with one of the weirdest characters being French-Canadian inspector Guy Lapointe, played by an uncredited and unrecognizable Johnny Depp. Depp relishes in the Jacques Clouseau-style accent, but he almost seems like he's from a completely different movie most of the time. Turns out, Depp wasn't the first pick for the role; Smith had wanted Quentin Tarantino to play him at first.
Adam Sandler as Brodie Bruce (Mallrats)
Along with his SNL buddies Chris Farley and Mike Myers, Sandler was on Universal's list to play comic book-loving slacker Brodie Bruce in Smith's second film Mallrats, with Ethan Hawke being their top pick for his friend T.S. Quint. Sandler probably could have been good in the part, as Brodie isn't too far removed from the kinds of immature underdogs he was known for playing at the time like Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison.
Mallrats, however, ended up being Lee's big break into acting—he was a skateboarder beforehand—and, without this film, we wouldn't have gotten him in Smith's other films or on My Name is Earl.
Emma Thompson as God (Dogma)
As Alan Rickman was preparing to sign on for Dogma, he had reached out to his friend and Love Actually/Harry Potter co-star Emma Thompson for the role of God. Thompson had to drop out, though, wanting to spend more time with her newborn baby.
While it would have been cool to see Thompson's wit and charisma on display in the role, even if the character is mute, we enjoyed Alanis Morissette's casting, as she came across as stern, dry, and charming in her short amount of screen time.