Hollywood often considers a plethora of actors for movies, but when finally offered a role, an actor might turn it down for a variety of reasons. What hurts is when the movie becomes a box-office hit or classic and that particular actor realizes they missed out on movie history.
While viewers are never truly able to know if the movie still would've been a classic if it starred different people, they can't help but wonder what the movie would've been like if it did. The actors who turned down these roles must have the same feeling because maybe if they had taken the part, it could have launched their career and allowed them to get greater roles or achieve financial success.
Eddie Murphy
Roger Rabbit could have had a very different co-star in the classic comedy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Originally, producers offered legendary comedian Eddie Murphy the role, but he turned it down. Roger's sidekick, Eddie Valiant, would ultimately be Bob Hoskins.
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Murphy said "I was like, 'What? Animation and people sound like bullsh*t to me.' Now every time I see it, I feel like an idiot."
Will Smith
Will Smith was one of the 90's biggest stars after starring in blockbusters like Independence Day and Men in Black. Both of which have become classics. However, before the decade finished, he could have added one more classic to the list, since he was originally offered the role of Neo in The Matrix.
Smith claims the movie pitch he received was confusing, so he turned it down, Keanu Reeves got it and Smith did the infamous box-office bomb Wild Wild West instead. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Smith was asked what he would tell his younger self if he could. Smith replied, "'Hey man, don't do Wild Wild West.' I would say, 'Dude, do Neo.'"
Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate has had a great career in many great movies, like Anchorman, and TV shows, like Married With Children. However, she's never had the starring role in a successful mainstream movie. Unfortunately, she had her chance with Legally Blonde but turned it down. The role went to Reese Witherspoon, who became a household name and has since starred in several big movies and won an Oscar for Walk The Line.
Applegate claims she didn't want to play another ditzy dumb blonde role like she did on Married With Children. She didn't want to repeat herself, but later admitted, "What a stupid move that was, right?"
Leonardo DiCaprio
Despite starring in the at-one-time highest-grossing movie of all time, Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio regrets turning down the movie he could have done instead: Boogie Nights. The role was porn star Dirk Diggler, which would ultimately launch Mark Wahlberg's acting career.
DiCaprio explains that he decided against the role because Boogie Nights' director, P.T Anderson, hadn't made anything well-known yet, saying, "My biggest regret is Boogie Nights. I'm a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson but the first time I met him for that role I hadn't really seen much of his previous work. Now I love that movie." Either option, clearly, would have worked out for DiCaprio.
Dustin Hoffman
Some roles are hard to imagine with another actor, and imagining anyone other than Robert DeNiro as Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver is one of them. However, Martin Scorcese originally considered iconic actor Dustin Hoffman for the role.
At the time, Scorcese wasn't the name he is now. Hoffman laments, "I remember meeting Martin Scorcese. He had no script and I didn't know who he was. I hadn't seen any of his films and he was talking a mile a minute telling me what the movie was about. I thought the guy was crazy!" He then added, "I made so many dumb mistakes. The list is endless."
Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn might've had two back-to-back Oscars if only she took the iconic Nurse Ratched role in the classic film, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
In an interview with Larry King, Burstyn says turning the movie down was her biggest career regret, and that she turned it down because at the time, ironically, she was spending a lot of time in mental wards with her husband and "didn't want to work in one." Ultimately, Louise Fletcher got the role and received the Oscar for Best Actress, the same Oscar Burstyn won the previous year for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
Gwyneth Paltrow
Kate Winslet became a household name thanks to the mega-blockbuster Titanic, however, the role was initially offered to Gwyneth Paltrow. At that time in her career, it would have seemed like a no-brainer, but not even she knows why she turned it down.
Paltrow lamented in a Howard Stern interview that, "I look back at the choices I've made and think, 'Why the hell did I say yes to that? And no to that?'"
Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington has starred in many classics but missed out on starring in one more, the legal thriller, Michael Clayton. It was prolific screenwriter Tony Gilroy's directorial debut, but working with a first-time director made Washington uneasy, so he turned it down, despite telling GQ, "It was the best material I had read in a long time."
Ultimately, George Clooney got the role, for which he received an Oscar nomination. The film was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director for novice Tony Gilroy. Washington said, "I was wrong. It happens."
Josh Hartnett
Nowadays, doing a big superhero movie is a big career boost. However, back in 2004, Josh Hartnett wanted to step back from the spotlight and not be pigeonholed as an actor, right around the time Christopher Nolan wanted him to play Batman in Batman Begins. He turned it down, and Christian Bale played the role three times, starred in Nolan's next film The Prestige, and became a huge star and Oscar winner.
Josh Hartnett regrets not taking the role after he saw how Bale overcame what he had feared might happen to his career. He also revealed he regretfully passed on playing Superman and Spider-Man too.
Matt Damon
Matt Damon lost out on one of the biggest paydays of his life when he turned down the role of Sully in James Cameron's Avatar. Cameron told Damon he wanted him for the role, but also said that the movie was bigger than any actor, so if he turned it down, he would just get an unknown, which is what he did in casting Sam Worthington.
Brutally, Cameron offered Damon 10 percent of the gross. Avatar became the highest-grossing movie of all time, meaning that Damon would have netted a $250 million profit. Despite this crushing financial blow, what Damon says he regrets the most is missing out on working with Cameron, who makes so few films. Ultimately, Damon turned the movie down to avoid scheduling conflicts with The Bourne Ultimatum.