Casting is rarely as tidy as the finished film makes it look. Before a name lands on a poster, a part has often passed through several hands, and some of those hands said no. A few of those refusals look painful in hindsight, because the person who stepped in walked away with a golden statue.
Some of these stories come from the actors themselves, and others come from long running Hollywood accounts that haven’t always been confirmed. Where the record is murkier, I’ve said so. Here are eight cases worth knowing.
Michelle Pfeiffer and Clarice Starling
When The Silence of the Lambs was being cast, Michelle Pfeiffer was among the actresses reportedly considered for FBI trainee Clarice Starling. She has said she passed because the material felt too dark for her at the time. Jodie Foster took the part instead.
Foster won Best Actress for the performance at the ceremony held in 1992. The film became only the third in history to win the so called big five categories, picture, director, actor, actress and screenplay. Pfeiffer has since spoken about the decision with good humor.
Gene Hackman and Hannibal Lecter
Gene Hackman was once attached to the project that became The Silence of the Lambs. He reportedly planned to direct it and star as Hannibal Lecter. He later stepped away, and Jonathan Demme ended up directing.
Anthony Hopkins then played Lecter, with remarkably little screen time. That performance earned him the Best Actor Oscar. Hackman, who already owned two Oscars of his own, never returned to the character.
Meg Ryan and the Other Clarice Rumor
Meg Ryan is also widely reported to have turned down Clarice Starling before Foster was cast. This one rests on long repeated industry accounts, not a detailed public statement, so it’s worth treating with some caution. The same caution applies to many casting tales from that era.
What isn’t in doubt is the outcome. Foster’s second Best Actress win came for this role, following her first for The Accused. Ryan, meanwhile, went on to build her career in romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle.
Burt Reynolds and Terms of Endearment
Burt Reynolds turned down the role of Garrett Breedlove, the swaggering retired astronaut in Terms of Endearment. He has called it one of the biggest mistakes of his career. He reportedly chose to make Stroker Ace instead.
Jack Nicholson took the part and won Best Supporting Actor. The film also won Best Picture and several other awards at the 1984 ceremony. Reynolds never received a competing nomination for that kind of role, though he was nominated for Boogie Nights later.
Julia Roberts and Shakespeare in Love
Julia Roberts is often reported to have passed on the lead role of Viola de Lesseps in Shakespeare in Love. The story has circulated for years, and Roberts herself has been fairly relaxed about it. Gwyneth Paltrow was cast in her place.
Paltrow won Best Actress at the 1999 ceremony. The film took home seven Oscars in total, including Best Picture. Roberts had already won her own Oscar for Erin Brockovich by the time the story was told widely.
Liam Neeson and Abraham Lincoln
Liam Neeson spent years attached to Steven Spielberg’s long planned Lincoln project. He stepped away around 2010, saying he felt he’d become too old for the part after the script and timeline shifted. It was a rare case of an actor leaving a role for practical reasons, not because he disliked it.
Daniel Day-Lewis then took over, and he won his third Best Actor Oscar for the film. That made him the only man to win the category three times. Neeson has remained gracious about the outcome in interviews.
John Travolta and Forrest Gump
John Travolta has said publicly that he turned down the title role in Forrest Gump. He has described it as a decision he regretted, while noting that Tom Hanks was the right fit. The film arrived in 1994 and quickly became a box office hit.
Hanks won Best Actor for it, his second in a row after Philadelphia. Forrest Gump also took Best Picture and Best Director among its six Oscars. Travolta’s own career had a major revival that same year thanks to Pulp Fiction.
Will Smith and Django Unchained
Will Smith has said Quentin Tarantino approached him about Django Unchained. He has explained that he didn’t feel the lead role was the center of the story, because the other characters carried more of it. Jamie Foxx played Django.
The film won two Oscars at the 2013 ceremony. Christoph Waltz took Best Supporting Actor for playing Dr. King Schultz, and Tarantino won Best Original Screenplay. Smith later won Best Actor himself, for King Richard at the 2022 ceremony.
