As famously quipped by director John Frankenheimer, “casting is 65% of the battle”. Getting casting right can not only mean critical success but commercial achievement – finding the right actor for the part is crucially important.
However, that doesn’t mean the first choice in necessarily the right choice. Oftentimes studios and directors will offer well-established actors key roles first, hoping their celebrity will guarantee a project commercial success. If they turn down the part, whether due to scheduling, price, or simple lack of interest, then the creative team can approach their real favorite choice. Because of this weird quirk of practice, Hollywood has countless horror stories of weird choices for iconic roles. Whilst a lot of these choices are confined to the realm of ‘what could have been’, it doesn’t stop everyone else from gawking at how odd they are.
OJ Simpson as The Terminator
Talk about ideas that haven’t aged well. That’s right: the studio initially wanted ‘The Juice’ for The Terminator, instead of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Now inextricably intertwined with Schwarzenegger (“I’ll be back”), the role was going to be offered to Simpson because the studio wanted a ‘large’ celebrity to play the T-800 – as a former football player, OJ definitely fit the bill.
What’s even more haunting is that director James Cameron rejected this idea because he thought Simpson was "too nice," and wouldn't be believable as a killing machine. Instead, they resolved to go with Schwarzenegger, who was originally being considered for Kyle Reese. The Terminator was released in 1984, and a mere 10 years later Simpson was arrested and charged with the murder of his ex-wife – it would seem Simpson proved Cameron wrong.
Joseph Gordon Levitt as Peter Quill in The Guardians of the Galaxy
Remember around 2010 when Joseph Gordon Levitt was seemingly in everything? 500 Days of Summer, Inception, 50/50, G.I. Joe, The Dark Knight Rises, Looper? Well, turns out there was one role he didn’t get – Peter Quill in Marvel’s The Guardians of the Galaxy.
The former child actor was on the shortlist for James Gunn’s MCU smash hit, with many predicting that Levitt would be the one to eventually win the role. However, in the end, Gunn and the studio went with Chris Pratt, with the part and the film leaning more into adolescent comedy, an area where Levitt ostensibly doesn’t thrive. Nevertheless, it’s fun to think that Star-Lord almost was that nerdy kid from Brick.
Hugh Jackman as Captain Jack Sparrow
Originally, Jack Sparrow wasn’t going to end up like the wild combination of Keith Richard and Pepe Le Pew – writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio initially envisioned the character to be more like a young Burt Lancaster, adventurous and dashing. In this regard, the first few casting options for this part were typical handsome action heroes – namely, Hugh Jackman.
Jackman’s name was floated because he hit the criteria for the classic Hollywood hunk. However, the part ended up going to Johnny Depp, as producer Jerry Bruckheimer felt Depp would give the film an edge that could draw teenage and adult audiences. It was only at the table read did Captain Jack Sparrow’s now-infamous idiosyncrasies first appear.
Miles Teller and Emma Watson as the two leads in La La Land
Two for the price of one – Miles Teller and Emma Watson were the top choices for the male and female leads in Damien Chazelle’s La La Land, and both were booted for being too demanding. Teller had previously worked with Chazelle on Whiplash so was obviously a top contender from the start. However, he wanted $6m for the role but the studio only wanted to pay for $4m, so he was dropped.
Equally, Watson was the top choice for the female lead, with the studio obviously banking on her star power to deliver audiences. However, Watson wanted the rehearsals for the film to take place in London, as to not interrupt her work on Beauty and the Beast – understandably, the studio didn’t want to transplant the entire pre-production team to another continent, so she was dropped as well.
Will Smith as Neo and Sean Connery as Morpheus in The Matrix
Another double bill, The Matrix edition – Will Smith was originally the top choice for Keanu Reeves' Neo and Sean Connery was the first-round pick for Lawrence Fishbourne’s Morpheus. Unlike the La La Land situation, however, the fault may lie with the directors, the Wachowskis, this time.
Following the massive success of Men In Black, Will Smith was being actively courted for everything, including The Matrix. Unfortunately, he turned down the part, due to some confusion. Ever the up-and-coming influencer, Smith detailed the interaction in full on his YouTube channel, explaining why (spoilers: it was because the Wachowskis didn’t describe the famous Matrix back-bend very well):
Equally, Sean Connery was being courted for Neo’s aged mentor, Morpheus, reportedly because he had done well in a similar role in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. However, it has been reported that Connery (who would’ve been in his late 70s at the time) couldn’t get his head around the technological side of the film, so turned it down thinking the whole premise was too confusing.