Molly Ringwald has revealed her regret at turning down the lead role in Ghost to Demi Moore, admitting the decision altered her Hollywood path.
The romance-thriller went on to become a Nineties box office success, but Ringwald described the project as the one she "still regrets turning down." Admitting it would have "changed the entire trajectory" of her career, Ringwald praised Moore for her performance, adding: "But Demi is great in it. So good for Demi. She did a great job."
Ringwald is far from the only star to have passed on a legendary part that went on to achieve massive success and define another actor's career.
Star Wars and Han Solo rejections
Al Pacino turned down playing Han Solo in Star Wars, telling interviewers he did not understand the script. "It was at that time in my career where I was offered everything," Pacino told MTV in 2014 as reported by Men's Health. "I was in The Godfather. They didn't care if I was right or wrong for the role, if I could act or not act."
Burt Reynolds was also up for the role but turned it down, wrongly assuming it would be a financial risk. Speaking to Business Insider in 2016, he said: "I just didn't want to play that kind of role at the time. Now I regret it. I wish I would have done it." Harrison Ford was cast as Han Solo instead.
The Matrix roles passed by Will Smith and Madonna
Will Smith was originally approached to play Neo in The Matrix, but passed because the pitch did not make sense to him at the time. He made Wild Wild West instead, and has openly admitted he regrets the choice.
Madonna also shared that she was supposed to swap the stage for the set and star in The Matrix. While the singer did not reveal which part she was meant to play, she revealed she turned down the offer, later admitting the decision made her want to "kill herself."
Appearing on The Tonight Show in 2021, Madonna said: "I also turned down the role in The Matrix. Can you believe that? I wanna kill myself. That's like one of the best movies ever made."
Sean Connery and The Lord of the Rings
In what may be one of the most expensive rejections of all time, Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy because he "didn't understand the script." The former James Bond actor was reportedly offered $10million per film plus 15 per cent of the box office, which would have earned him nearly $450million.
Connery was also reportedly offered to join the cast with a 15 per cent stake in the film franchise's box office profits, meaning the actor lost out on a potential huge payday. The role of Gandalf in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkien's fantasy trilogy went to Sir Ian McKellen. Connery said: "I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don't understand it. Ian McKellen, I believe, is marvellous in it."
Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction choices
The first choice for the role of Forrest Gump belonged to John Travolta. Having starred in 1970s hits such as Grease and Saturday Night Fever, Travolta was in need of a career resurgence by the 1990s. He turned down Forrest Gump in favour of playing Vincent Vega in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.
The choice revitalised Travolta's career and led to an Oscar nomination against Tom Hanks for Forrest Gump, an award Travolta subsequently lost. Travolta claimed he does not regret turning down the role, stating: "If I didn't do something Tom Hanks did, then I did something else that was equally interesting or fun, [...] But I feel good about some I gave up because other careers were created." Forrest Gump went on to make $678million worldwide.
Brokeback Mountain casting decisions
Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon all reportedly passed on Brokeback Mountain, which eventually starred Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Film-maker Gus Van Sant, who was originally considered as director, believed it needed a famous cast. Van Sant told IndieWire: "Nobody wanted to do it. I was working on it, and I felt like we needed a really strong cast, like a famous cast. That wasn't working out. I asked the usual suspects: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ryan Phillippe. They all said no."
Producer and screenwriter Diana Ossana confirmed in an email to IndieWire that those actors turned down the project for various reasons. The 2005 film, chronicling the love story of two modern cowboys, received eight Oscar nominations, including acting nods for Ledger and Gyllenhaal. Ang Lee won best director, and the film won for best adapted screenplay and achievement in music. Van Sant added: "What I could have done, and what I probably should have done, was cast more unknowns, not worried about who were the lead actors. I was not ready. I'm not sure why. There was just sort of a hiccup on my part. There was something off with myself, I guess, whatever was going on."
Batman and James Bond roles
John Lithgow turned down the chance to play The Joker in Tim Burton's Batman and even talked the director out of casting him. Lithgow had previously turned down the role of Frasier Crane on Cheers because he felt television was beneath him. He described his Batman audition as the "worst" of his career, revealing: "I tried to persuade him I was not right for the part, and I succeeded. I didn't realise it was such a big deal." The role eventually went to three-time Oscar winner Jack Nicholson.
Director Joe Dante had also wanted Lithgow as the villain for an unmade Batman movie after the success of Gremlins. Lithgow told Entertainment Weekly: "I was doing M Butterfly on Broadway, and it was an exhausting show. It would have meant leaving that show and going right into a movie, and I said, 'I just don't think I can'. How about that for stupid? Actors are not necessarily smart people."
Burt Reynolds rejected the role of James Bond in 1973's Live and Let Die, believing the public would not accept an American 007. Only six actors have played the spy in 25 official instalments to date, with all being British or Irish except Australia-born George Lazenby in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. American actor James Brolin was also considered before Roger Moore decided to return to the role.
Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz recalled in the book Nobody Does It Better that Reynolds almost played Bond, noting the choice for Live and Let Die was between Reynolds and Roger Moore. Producer Cubby Broccoli of Eon Productions insisted James Bond must be English, ruling Reynolds out of contention.
Blockbusters Speed and Toy Story
Halle Berry was in the frame for the character of Annie Porter in Speed before Sandra Bullock starred opposite Keanu Reeves. Speaking to Movieline in 1995, Berry revealed: "I turned down Speed because I thought, 'I don't want to drive that bus.' There wasn't a whole lot of dialogue. I admit, I just don't get it when I read action stuff like, 'The bus flies 100 miles per hour over an overpass.' One of the script versions they sent me, the bus never got out of Dodger Stadium, it just kept driving around and around the parking lot!" Watching the finished film, Berry thought: "The movie gods sure didn't talk to me that day."
Billy Crystal rejected the role of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story on his agent's advice. Crystal confessed on The Graham Norton Show: "I was the dope that turned it down, but it wasn't about the character, it was a business thing, and my agent said not to do it, so I passed. Then it comes out and it is genius."
Crystal later voiced Mike Wazowski in Monsters, Inc., agreeing after producers showed him a test clip of Buzz Lightyear speaking his lines from When Harry Met Sally. Over 30 years, five Toy Story films and the 2022 spin-off Lightyear were created, with Tim Allen's pay for voicing Buzz growing from an estimated $50,000 for the 1995 original to roughly $20million for Toy Story 5.
Grease and Legally Blonde
Henry Winkler turned down the lead role of Danny Zuko in Grease out of fear of being typecast after playing The Fonz on Happy Days for 11 seasons. Admitting his regret to CNN in 2022, Winkler said: "I am a damn fool. I only realised years afterwards. I thought, 'I've played the Fonz, I don't want to do it again.' I should've just shut up and had a really good time making that movie. Now, I go home, I say no, and I have a Diet Coke. John Travolta goes home, and has done the movie, and buys a plane." Travolta received an upfront reported salary of $200,000 plus backend profit sharing. Grease made $396 million globally on a $6 million production budget.
Christina Applegate passed on the script for Elle Woods in the 2001 movie Legally Blonde, which made a star of Reese Witherspoon. Applegate, then 26, had played Kelly Bundy on Married... with Children for a decade until 1997 and wanted to build an adult acting career. Speaking on Watch What Happens Live in 2019, Applegate said: "I wasn't actually offered it, but the script had came to me. But I had just gotten off Married with Children and I felt like it was too close to what I had just been doing and I was very interested in removing myself from that. I don't regret it because Reese Witherspoon did a much better job than I ever could and she has way more money and more success, and why would I ever regret that?" Witherspoon was paid $2.5million for the original film and $15million for the 2003 sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, while keeping her character wardrobe of 77 pairs of Jimmy Choo shoes.
