It is totally fascinating to see the actors destined to play famous roles in movies like Arnold Schwasnnegar as Terminator, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark and Sylvester Stallone as Rocky. Well, such roles don’t come easy until someone turns it down, making them most iconic. Check out the five actors who turned down biggest roles.
1) Thomas Jane as ‘Don Draper’
The Don Draper of Mad Men was initially offered to Thomas Jane, not John Hamm. In 2011, during the Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, Hamm took some time off and revealed the secret about the role.
He said: “I started, literally, on the very, very bottom — I couldn’t have had less heat on me.
Nobody knew who I was. The casting directors didn’t know who I was. I wasn’t on anybody’s lists. … The funny thing was, I think they went to Thomas Jane for it, and they were told that Thomas Jane does not do television.”
2) Mathew Broderick and John Cusack as ‘Walter White’
Matthew Broderick and John Cusack turned down the role of Walter White in Breaking Bad, which was later played by Bryan Cranston. After watching him in in an episode of “The X-Files, the show executive changes their mind.
3) Emily Blunt as Black Widow
Emily Blunt was earlier destined to be the Black Widow Iron Man 2 and Avengers, which was later play by Scarlett Johnson. Well, she was up for the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avengers but turned it down too.
“I didn’t do it at the time because it wasn’t the right time and I was contracted to of something else. But Scarlett has done such a phenomenal job – she’s it” she said in a report by Looper.
4) Will Smith as Neo
Will Smith turned down the iconic role of Neo in the film Matrix. In a report by Movie Pilot, he said: “ You know, The Matrix is a difficult concept to pitch. In the pitch, I just didn’t see it. I watched Keanu’s performance – and very rarely do I say this – but I would have messed it up. I would have absolutely messed up The Matrix. At that point, I wasn’t smart enough as an actor to let the movie be. Whereas Keanu was smart enough to just let it be. Let the movie and the director tell the story, and don’t try and perform every moment.
5) Dougray Scott as Wolverine
Dougray Scott was originally cast for the role of Wolverine, but due to clash in schedules with Mission: Impossible II (2000), he had to drop it. And then Russell Crowe suggested Hugh Jackman the director, who was cast as Wolverine.
