Casting is a strange business. A part that looks risky, awkward or simply wrong on paper can end up defining a decade of film.
The five stories below are among the best documented in Hollywood. Each involves an actress who said no, and another who said yes and never looked back.
Michelle Pfeiffer and Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs
By the early 1990s, Michelle Pfeiffer was one of the most sought-after leading ladies in Hollywood. She was offered the role of FBI trainee Clarice Starling in Jonathan Demme’s thriller and turned it down. Her reasons have been widely reported as discomfort with the film’s dark material.
Jodie Foster took the part, and the results were historic. The Silence of the Lambs won the five major Academy Awards, including Best Actress for Foster. It remains one of very few films ever to do that, and Clarice became one of her signature roles.
Molly Ringwald and Ghost
Molly Ringwald was the face of teen cinema in the 1980s, and she has said in interviews that she passed on a few big opportunities as she tried to move beyond that image. One was the lead in Ghost, the supernatural romance released in 1990. She has also said she turned down Pretty Woman.
Demi Moore played Molly Jensen instead, opposite Patrick Swayze. Ghost earned more than half a billion dollars worldwide, and it turned Moore from a promising co-star into a bankable lead. The pottery wheel scene is still one of the most recognizable moments of its era.
Kim Basinger and Basic Instinct
Kim Basinger was reportedly offered the role of Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct, the 1992 thriller directed by Paul Verhoeven. She declined, and the part passed through several hands before it settled. The script’s explicit content was a common concern for actresses at the time.
Sharon Stone accepted, and the film made her an international star. She had worked steadily for years without a real breakout, and Catherine Tramell changed that overnight. Stone later earned an Oscar nomination for Casino, which suggests the role opened doors well beyond the thriller genre.
Claire Danes and Rose in Titanic
Claire Danes was a rising name in the mid 1990s, thanks to the TV series My So-Called Life and her role in Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. She has said she was offered Rose in James Cameron’s Titanic and passed on it. Several other young actresses were also part of the conversation.
Kate Winslet won the role, and Titanic became a global phenomenon in 1997. It earned Winslet an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, and she was only twenty two at the time. For many audiences, Rose is still the first thing that comes to mind when her name comes up.
Julia Roberts and Viola in Shakespeare in Love
Julia Roberts was among the actresses linked to Shakespeare in Love while the project was still taking shape. She has spoken about not taking the role, and the film moved forward with a different lead. It’s a reminder that a script can change directors and casts several times before it reaches the screen.
Gwyneth Paltrow played Viola de Lesseps and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for it. The film also took home Best Picture at the ceremony held in 1999. The win gave Paltrow a level of prestige that few actresses of her generation matched so quickly.
