Former child actor Ke Huy Quan has revealed to People why he quit acting for 20 years following starring roles in Indiana Jones and The Goonies. Many actors throughout the years have been noted for their professionalism on-set but sometimes inappropriate behind-the-scenes behavior, creative differences, or scheduling issues have prevented them from staying in roles or the acting business altogether.
While there was no dramatic exit for Quan, who has returned to screens in Everything Everywhere All At Once, plenty of other actors have left roles in a more shocking fashion. Production problems in films are normal as there are so many components that go into making these expensive projects but the chances of an actor quitting or being fired aren't as rare as people may think.
Terrence Howard (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
After delivering a standout performance in the first Iron Man film as Tony Stark's best friend Rhodey, many expected Terrence Howard to return in Iron Man 2 and don the War Machine suit. The set-up was there as towards the end of the film he delivers the line "Next time, baby," as he ponders taking Iron Man's other armor.
Howard maintains that Marvel reduced his pay cut down by 80% which prompted him to exit the role but Entertainment Weekly reports that due to Howard's poor behavior on-set, Jon Favreau reduced his role in the script, and Marvel low-balled the actor in an effort to have him vacate the role. Once Iron Man 2 came out, it was clear his role hadn't been greatly reduced. While it's a shame Howard wouldn't go on to play the role for years to come, Don Cheadle made the role his own and is set to headline his own series in the upcoming Armor Wars.
Bruce Willis (Broadway Brawler)
Movies canceled in the middle of production are an extremely rare occurrence but usually, it's due to factors relating to budget or studio problems. With Broadway Brawler, however, it was reportedly the fault of lead actor Bruce Willis. According to the LA Times, Willis repeatedly clashed with director Lee Grant.
Due to the creative clashes and the difficulty in finding what tone the film was going to have, the film was shut down after just 20 days of production. The result was $28 million in losses. To make up for it, Disney required Willis to star in three films for them at a reduced rate: Armageddon, The Sixth Sense, and The Kid.
Ryan Gosling (The Lovely Bones)
In 2007, Ryan Gosling was cast in the lead role of Peter Jackson's ambitious film The Lovely Bones. After not much communication during pre-production, Gosling arrived on set weighing 210 pounds, having gained 60 pounds for the role. According to THR, Gosling felt the grieving father should be overweight.
Jackson had a completely different vision for the character and unfortunately, Gosling was forced to quit due to the weight gain. Jackson ultimately ended up hiring Mark Wahlberg to replace Gosling.
Zendaya (Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B)
Considered by many to be one of the best Gen-Z actors in the industry, Zendaya has already embarked on so many great roles in her budding career. She nearly played the role of iconic R&B star Aaliyah in a biopic produced by Lifetime. Not long after the announcement of her casting, she faced numerous amounts of unwarranted backlash.
Per Billboard, Zendaya vacated the role as a result of low production value and the fact that the studio never got the family's blessing. Because of this, Lifetime failed to get the rights to Aaliyah's music. Alexandra Shipp replaced Zendaya but sadly the film was released to extremely negative reviews.
Ewan McGregor (American Psycho)
Known for its memorable quotes, American Psycho has become quite an iconic film. It's very hard to imagine anybody but Christian Bale in the lead role but he actually wasn't Lionsgate's first choice. Before director Mary Herron was brought on board, David Cronenberg was set to direct the film with Brad Pitt to star, per IndieWire.
Billy Crudup was also attached to the role of Patrick Bateman but dropped out after having difficulty understanding the character. According to CheatSheet, the studio was interested in Bale but was seeking Leonardo DiCaprio and Ewan McGregor. DiCaprio passed due to what he felt would be a career-ending role and Ewan McGregor received a phone call from Bale telling him not to pursue the role. McGregor stepped out of the running and Bale was cast after fighting for the role for a long time.
Ed Skrein (Hellboy)
After starring in Game of Thrones, Deadpool, and The Transporter Refueled, Ed Skrein was in hot demand in Hollywood. In 2017, Skrein was cast as one of the main roles in the Hellboy reboot, Ben Daimio, who in the comics is of Japanese descent. The casting received widespread backlash due to another role of color being whitewashed.
The actor released a statement, via THR, "Representation of ethnic diversity is important, especially to me as I have a mixed heritage family." Lost star Daniel Dae Kim would end up taking the role but the film was unfortunately subject to poor critical reception upon release.
Kevin Spacey (All the Money in the World)
Despite being a talented actor, Kevin Spacey's past caught up to him. After filming all of his scenes for Ridley Scott's awards contender All the Money in the World, Anthony Rapp, and several others came forward with sexual assault allegations against Spacey.
Just one month before the release of the film, all of Spacey's scenes were reshot with Christopher Plummer in 8 days. What's even more impressive is that Plummer earned his third and final Oscar nomination for the role.
Edward Norton (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
Despite receiving mixed reviews at the time, many have warmed up to The Incredible Hulk as it gets a lot of things about the Hulk right. Edward Norton's portrayal of Bruce Banner is also excellent. The film does feel very different compared to other MCU films due to its dark tone.
Norton was originally set to reprise the role in The Avengers and any Hulk sequels but backed out. Per CinemaBlend, the reason was revealed to be creative differences. Norton had his own vision for the character that he wanted to be dark and inspired by Christopher Nolan's work but Marvel had a different direction. Norton remarks of the experience "[...]they were like 'That’s what we want!’ As it turned out, that wasn’t what they wanted. But I had a great time doing it. I got on great with Kevin Feige."
Samantha Morton (Her)
Spike Jonze's Her is easily the filmmaker's best work but the role of the A.I. Samantha was originally voiced by Samantha Morton. During post-production on the film, Jonze felt he wanted the character to go in a different direction so instead he cast Scarlett Johansson (per Looper).
Despite exiting, the decision was reportedly amicable and Morton retained a credit in the final cut of the film as an associate producer.
Eric Stoltz (Back to the Future)
Quite possibly the most notorious casting change made during production, Eric Stoltz was originally cast in the iconic role of Marty McFly. Michael J. Fox had always been the top choice to play the starring role but he was unfortunately busy with Family Ties. Stoltz was selected instead.
Eric Stoltz was a huge problem for the cast. He stayed in character and refused to be referred to anything else but Marty. Stoltz would also repeatedly antagonize Thomas F. Wilson, who played Biff, by hitting him with all his force in takes, rather than "playing pretend," according to Vulture. Stoltz was quickly fired as producers viewed him as a major problem. It was definitely for the best Michael J. Fox ended up taking on the role.