Almost cast: Actors who almost got the parts in famous movies

David Schwimmer – ‘Men in Black’ - Schwimmer believed ‘The Pallbearer’ would allow for more career growth and that choosing to star in ‘Man in Black’ would be choosing a quick buck over a career. At this point, it’s pretty safe to say that Schwimmer got that one wrong. Regardless, Will Smith was great as Agent J.

65 / 87 Fotos

Emily Blunt – ‘Iron Man 2’ - Blunt really wanted the role of Black Widow, but unfortunately had scheduling conflicts over her role in the Gulliver’s Travels film.

66 / 87 Fotos

Emily Blunt – ‘Iron Man 2’ - Scarlett Johansson went on to portray Black Widow in the sequel.

67 / 87 Fotos

Jennifer Lawrence – ‘Twilight' - JLaw auditioned for the part of Bella in the ‘Twilight’ saga, but didn’t get the part.

68 / 87 Fotos

Jennifer Lawrence – ‘Twilight’ - She lost out to Kristen Stewart. But JLaw went on to play the lead in ‘The Hunger Games’ that same year, so she probably isn’t holding a grudge.

69 / 87 Fotos

Jim Carrey – ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ - Disney was really set on having Carrey play Jack Sparrow, but the actor had scheduling issues and had to turn it down.

70 / 87 Fotos

Jim Carrey – ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ - Johnny Depp scored the part, which ended up revitalizing his career.

71 / 87 Fotos

Jack Nicholson – ‘The Godfather’ - Nicholson was actually Francis Ford Coppola's first choice. Nicholson turned down the role, arguing it needed to be filled by an Italian.

72 / 87 Fotos

Jack Nicholson – ‘The Godfather’ - Al Pacino performed the role of Michael Corleone so perfectly, it's hard to imagine anybody else was even considered.

73 / 87 Fotos

Josh Hartnett – ‘Thor’ - At the time of the film’s production, there were a lot of rumors regarding who would star in the Marvel superhero film. Hartnett’s name came up often as the option to play Loki.

74 / 87 Fotos

Josh Hartnett – ‘Thor’ - Hartnett was too recognizable, and director Kenneth Branagh wanted someone more unknown. Tom Hiddleston ended up getting the part, which launched his career.

75 / 87 Fotos

Eric Stoltz – ‘Back to the Future’ - Stoltz shot four weeks worth of scenes as Marty McFly when the filmmakers determined he wasn’t funny enough.

76 / 87 Fotos

Eric Stoltz – ‘Back to the Future’ - Eventually Michael J. Fox was chosen for the part, who knocked it out of the park.

77 / 87 Fotos

George Clooney – ‘Thelma and Louise’ - Clooney hadn’t had any breakout roles in 1991, and wanted the role of J.D. really badly.

78 / 87 Fotos

George Clooney – ‘Thelma and Louise’ - Brad Pitt was cast instead, but it all worked out. Both went on to become American icons and are best buds now. Everyone wins.

79 / 87 Fotos

John Cusack – ‘The Breakfast Club’ - Cusack lobbied hard for the role of the rebellious John Bender.

80 / 87 Fotos

John Cusack – ‘The Breakfast Club’ - The role was given to Judd Nelson instead, who is still primarily associated with this role.

81 / 87 Fotos

Nicolas Cage – ‘The Breakfast Club’ - Cage was also considered for the role of John Bender, but the filmmakers couldn’t afford his salary requirements.

82 / 87 Fotos

Matt Damon – ‘Avatar’ - Daman was originally considered for the part of Jake Sully.

83 / 87 Fotos

Matt Damon – ‘Avatar’ - James Cameron decided against it because he thought a lesser-known actor would be more appropriate for the role. Cameron ended up casting the Australian actor Sam Worthington, who reportedly was living in his car at the time of auditioning.

84 / 87 Fotos

Liam Neeson – ‘Lincoln’ - Neeson participated in several meetings in the early stages of the film, but ended up turning down the role partly because his wife had just died.

85 / 87 Fotos

Liam Neeson – ‘Lincoln’ - Everyone, including Neeson, agrees that Daniel Day-Lewis was the one and only person to play the late president, a performance for which he won an Oscar.

86 / 87 Fotos

0 / 87 Fotos

Al Pacino – ‘Star Wars’ - The ‘Scarface’ actor revealed in 2015 that he turned down the role of Han Solo because he didn’t understand the script.

1 / 87 Fotos

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John Travolta – ‘Forrest Gump’ - The role was, of course, given to Tom Hanks, whose portrayal of Gump has become an important landmark in American cinema.

5 / 87 Fotos

Anne Hathaway – ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ - The film's volatile Tiffany was originally offered to Hathaway, who declined the part over creative differences with director David O. Russell.

6 / 87 Fotos

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Britney Spears – ‘The Notebook' - This one is pretty shocking, as Spears has had little experience in film.

8 / 87 Fotos

Britney Spears – ‘The Notebook’ - Rachel McAdams ended up taking the part, helping the film become the success it was.

9 / 87 Fotos

Christina Aguilera – ‘Knocked Up’ - Aguilera was reportedly offered the part of Alison Scott in this Judd Apatow comedy, but chose to focus on her music career instead.

10 / 87 Fotos

Christina Aguilera – ‘Knocked Up’ - Katherine Heigl got the part instead.

11 / 87 Fotos

Tom Selleck – ‘Indiana Jones’ - Tom “The Moustache” Selleck was actually excited about doing this part, but his contract with ‘Magnum PI’ made it impossible.

12 / 87 Fotos

Tom Selleck – ‘Indiana Jones’ - Director Steven Spielberg held out for a month in the hope that Selleck would become available, but eventually offered the part to Harrison Ford.

13 / 87 Fotos

Julia Roberts – ‘The Blind Side’ - Roberts turned down the part of Leigh Anne Tuohy in this box-office smash to focus on her rom-com ‘Valentine's Day’ instead.

14 / 87 Fotos

Julia Roberts – ‘The Blind Side’ - Sandra Bullock took the part, despite the fact that she had to take a pay cut. Her portrayal of Leigh Anne earned her an Oscar.

15 / 87 Fotos

Ashton Kutcher – ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ - Kutcher auditioned for the part of Patrick Verona, and really wanted the part.

16 / 87 Fotos

Ashton Kutcher – ‘10 Things I Hate About You’ - Kutcher was, however, beat out by Heath Ledger, whose portrayal of the high school bad boy helped launch his career.

17 / 87 Fotos

Leonardo DiCaprio – ‘American Psycho’ - DiCaprio actually got the part of killer yuppie Patrick Bateman, pushing the already-cast Christian Bale aside.

18 / 87 Fotos

Leonardo DiCaprio – ‘American Psycho’ - Bale didn’t take it well, though. He started to lobby to get the part back until finally he succeeded.

19 / 87 Fotos

Jessica Lange – ‘First Wives Club’ - Lange was originally considered for the role of Elise Elliot, but the producers later decided to rewrite the character to be more flamboyant.

20 / 87 Fotos

Jessica Lange – ‘First Wives Club’ - The part of the more comedic Elise was then offered to Goldie Hawn.

21 / 87 Fotos

Ryan Gosling – ‘The Lovely Bones’ - Director Peter Jackson reportedly declined to give Gosling the part because the actor was too chubby and bearded for the role.

22 / 87 Fotos

Ryan Gosling – ‘The Lovely Bones’ - Mark Wahlberg replaced Gosling at the very last minute.

23 / 87 Fotos

Thomas Jane – ‘Mad Men’ - Jane actually got selected for the role, but he turned it down because he didn’t want to be in television (ironically, he ended up acting in HBO’s ‘Hung’).

24 / 87 Fotos

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Jon Hamm – ‘Gone Girl’ - Hamm really wanted to portray Nick Dunne is this film because ‘Mad Men’ was coming to a close, and he needed to think ahead.

26 / 87 Fotos

Jon Hamm – ‘Gone Girl’ - But ‘Mad Men’ creator Matthew Weiner didn’t let Hamm get out of his contract, so the role went to Ben Affleck instead.

27 / 87 Fotos

David Boreanaz – ‘Batman Begins’ - Boreanaz reportedly turned down the role in light of other commitments on the TV show 'Bones.'

28 / 87 Fotos

David Boreanaz – ‘Batman Begins’ - The part ultimately went to Christian Bale.

29 / 87 Fotos

30 / 87 Fotos

Angelina Jolie – ‘Gravity’ - She role of astronaut Ryan Stone ended up being interpreted by Sandra Bullock, for which she earned several award nominations.

31 / 87 Fotos

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Hailee Steinfeld – ‘The Hunger Games’ - But ultimately the role went to Jennifer Lawrence, who had just been nominated for an Oscar that year.

33 / 87 Fotos

Eminem – ‘Elysium’ - Director Neill Blomkamp wanted an unconventional choice. Eminem agreed on the condition that the film be shot in his hometown of Detroit, a request that was declined.

34 / 87 Fotos

Eminem – ‘Elysium’ - Blomkamp’s reluctant hero Max was played by Matt Damon, a more conventional choice.

35 / 87 Fotos

Gwyneth Paltrow – ‘Jurassic Park’ - Paltrow was still relatively unknown when she auditioned for the part of the paleobotanist, Ellie Sattler.

36 / 87 Fotos

Gwyneth Paltrow – ‘Jurassic Park’ - However, she missed the cut and Laura Dern went on to star in Steven Spielberg's iconic blockbuster.

37 / 87 Fotos

Gwyneth Paltrow – ‘Titanic’ - Paltrow was also turned down for the female leading role in ‘Titanic.’

38 / 87 Fotos

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Matthew McConaughey – ‘Titanic’ - Speaking of ‘Titanic,’ Kate Winslet actually initially auditioned with McConaughey.

40 / 87 Fotos

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Lindsay Lohan – ‘Mean Girls’ - Lohan originally read the part of Regina George, but she turned down the role over concerns that playing a “mean girl” would hurt her reputation.

42 / 87 Fotos

43 / 87 Fotos

James Franco – ‘Mean Girls’ - Another fun fact about the casting of ‘Mean Girls’ is that James Franco was considered for the role of Aaron Samuels.

44 / 87 Fotos

Lindsay Lohan – 'Mean Girls' - The role was ultimately given to Jonathan Bennett.

45 / 87 Fotos

Michael Phelps – ‘The Legend of Tarzan’ - Late producer Jerry Weintraub’s first choice to interpret Tarzan in this 2016 version was actually Olympic superstar Michael Phelps.

46 / 87 Fotos

47 / 87 Fotos

Will Smith – ‘The Matrix’ - Smith was offered the role of Neo in the 1999 saga, but he passed on it.

48 / 87 Fotos

Will Smith – ‘The Matrix’ - He still argues that he wasn’t right for the part, which was played by Keanu Reeves.

49 / 87 Fotos

Will Smith – ‘Django Unchained’ - Quentin Tarantino has said he wrote the character Django with Smith in mind. But Smith turned it down because he wanted to play the lead.

50 / 87 Fotos

Will Smith – ‘Django Unchained’ - Smith assumed the lead character would end up being Dr. King Schultz, played by Austrian actor Christoph Waltz. Smith's part was then offered to Jamie Foxx.

51 / 87 Fotos

Robin Williams – ‘Harry Potter’ - Can you picture Williams as the giant Hagrid? Well, that almost happened.

52 / 87 Fotos

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Robin Williams – ‘The Shining’ - Jack Nicholson went on to deliver a memorable interpretation of the character based on Stephen King’s novel.

55 / 87 Fotos

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Tom Cruise – ‘Iron Man’ - Most can agree that Robert Downey Jr. was iconic in the role though.

57 / 87 Fotos

Freddie Prinze Jr. – ‘Spider-Man’ - Prinze was the first choice for the role of Spider-Man. Sony apparently didn’t want Tobey Maguire for the role.

58 / 87 Fotos

Freddie Prinze Jr. – ‘Spider-Man’ - However, director Sam Raimi was really set on Tobey Maguire, and lobbied for him until Sony accepted it.

59 / 87 Fotos

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OJ Simpson – ‘Terminator’ - Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to become an international superstar following his performance as the Terminator.

61 / 87 Fotos

Jake Gyllenhaal – ‘Batman Begins’ - Christopher Nolan strongly considered Gyllenhaal for the part.

62 / 87 Fotos

Jake Gyllenhaal – ‘Batman Begins’ - Nolan ultimately decided he wanted someone older to play Bruce Wayne, and extended the offer to Christian Bale.

63 / 87 Fotos

David Schwimmer – ‘Men in Black’ - Ross Geller, aka Schwimmer, turned down the role of Agent J, in order to star in ‘The Pallbearer’ alongside Gwyneth Paltrow.

64 / 87 Fotos