Ever watched Antz? That’s a wonderful analogy for an actor’s life, as they scramble and compete with millions of others for limited parts and general survival.
Famous actors appear to have a cheat code to leap out in front. Yet, even they struggle with double, double toil and trouble at some point, failing to land key roles in big movies. Looking back, if they had secured these parts, it may have changed the entire trajectory of their careers – for better or worse.
So, with that in mind, let’s take a look at the famous actors who almost starred in unexpected movies. Grab that helmet and put it on before your mind gets blown away!
Nicholas Hoult is no stranger to superhero films. After all, he starred as Beast in Fox’s X-Men movies and shaved his head to play the dastardly Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman. However, Hoult nearly secured the comic book movie Holy Grail by putting on the cape and cowl to beat up Gotham City’s bad guys as Batman. Before Robert Pattinson landed the lead in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Hoult had been in the running for the part too.
Speaking on Happy Sad Confused, the actor confirmed how disappointed he felt when he didn’t get the gig. “Yeah of course it’s an emotional blow,” Hoult said. “Because your imagination does not know… You are aware on a practical level: ‘I know I am auditioning against Rob.’ And Rob is fantastic in that movie. That was the right decision. But also you get excited by the prospect.” In hindsight, had he been cast as Batman, it’s unlikely he would have landed the Luthor gig a few years later.
When someone says the name Rachael Leigh Cook, the first film that pops to mind is the iconic ’90s teen comedy She’s All That. Cook could have catapulted her fame to another level had she said yes to a big blockbuster movie around the same time. Ironically, it was her She’s All That co-star Anna Paquin that took the gamble and reaped the benefits in the end.
The part in question was that of the mutant Rogue in 2000’s X-Men movie. Speaking to the New York Times, Cook admitted she made a “huge misstep” by turning down the film. She added: “As soon as I saw the posters for it, I knew that I’d made a mistake.” Instead of playing Rogue, Cook went on to portray Josie McCoy in 2001’s Josie and the Pussycats. While the film bombed at the box office, it turned into a cult classic years later.
Without question, Timothée Chalamet is one of the hottest rising stars in Hollywood. Whether he’s Paul Atreides or Willy Wonka, the film industry can’t get enough of him and his endless supply of charm. He almost added the skills of monkey biter, shark tamer, and skull crusher to his résumé too, as Ridley Scott considered him a possibility to play Lucius in Gladiator II.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, Scott looked at both Chalamet and Miles Teller as potential candidates for the coveted lead role. However, this all changed after the filmmaker stumbled upon Paul Mescal in the Hulu show Normal People and decided he would be the right person for the part. Incredible how all that stood between Chalamet (or Teller) as Lucius was Scott’s Hulu subscription.
Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio melted hearts in Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of Romeo + Juliet. They were the quintessential young couple of ’90s cinema for a year until Titanic swam along in 1997 and cemented Rose and Jack’s relationship as the love story of the ages. As it turns out, Danes was offered the chance to play Rose in Titanic alongside DiCaprio’s Jack, but she turned it down so Kate Winslet took the gig instead.
Appearing on the Armchair Expert podcast, Danes explained how she and DiCaprio shared the same agent then. She was offered the chance to read for Rose, but she decided not to pursue it. “But honestly, I’d just made this romantic epic with Leo in Mexico City, which is where they were going to shoot Titanic, and I just didn’t have it in me,” Danes said. She acknowledged how Titanic changed DiCaprio’s career and turned him into an A-list superstar, but it wasn’t something she wanted for herself.
Before playing Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sebastian Stan made a name for himself as the supporting character Carter Baizen in Gossip Girl. However, his rise to fame could have come quicker had he embarked on the final frontier as Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 Star Trek reboot. The coveted part went to Chris Pine in the end.
Appearing on Happy Sad Confused, Stan admitted he was extremely close to landing the gig of Captain Kirk. He said: “Captain Kirk for J.J. Abrams was one of the first things that I got very close to. I was really close and I had a screen test with him at Paramount studios and my manager had me do a separate photoshoot where I would try and replicate all of these William Shatner pictures just to send to [J.J.] to see how much I look like him and stuff. Didn’t get it.” In retrospect, Stan landing the role of Captain Kirk could have influenced the likelihood of him playing Bucky a few years later.
For all intents and purposes, Nicole Kidman has had an enviable career, starring in a plethora of recognizable movies that other actors could only dream about. However, there was one film she turned down and regretted: 2003’s Love Actually.
Kidman revealed in a Q&A with Hugh Grant for Marie Claire that she wanted to appear alongside Grant in the romantic comedy. She said: “I think there was something where I think I really wanted a role… Maybe I was gonna do a small role in Love Actually at one point.” When Grant asked her which part it was, Kidman admitted she couldn’t recall. In addition, she revealed how she wanted to play Julia Roberts’ character Anna Scott in Notting Hill, but she didn’t get the role.
Before landing the role of Superman, Henry Cavill was seen as the almost man of Hollywood. He had previously auditioned to play the Man of Steel and never got the call back, then he suited up for James Bond only to see it go to Daniel Craig. The one role he appeared to have in the bag, though, was Edward Cullen in the Twilight film series, especially since his biggest supporter was author Stephenie Meyer. Again, that didn’t go his way as he lost the part to Robert Pattinson.
Appearing on The Graham Norton Show, Cavill put a positive spin on the experience and explained what happened. He said: “I think the writer of the books, when the movie came around, I think I was her first choice. That’s the rumor I heard. And she wanted me to play the role, but it wasn’t up to her. And instead, a very talented actor played him instead.”
