Actors That Nearly Nabbed The Big Role

By ETCanada.com Staff. 25 Jun 2020 9:48 AM

The only thing worse than not being considered for an iconic movie or TV role? Coming thiiiiiiiiiiis close, only to see it fall through. Here are a handful of actors who couldn’t quite seal the deal…

Bob Odenkirk Nearly Played Michael Scott On 'The Office'

Photo: Greg Lewis / ©AMC / Courtesy Everett Collection/CP Images

Craig T. Nelson Was Almost 'Modern Family''s Jay Pritchett

Photo: CPImages

AP Photo/Steve Nesius, Pool, File/CPImages

Mark Ruffalo Turned Down 'Blue Valentine'

Reese Witherspoon And Kerry Washington Auditioned For 'Clueless'

Photo: BuzzFeed/YouTube

Jessica Simpson Turned Down 'The Notebook'

Don Cheadle Filmed A 'Fresh Prince' Spin-Off

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Taylor Swift Tried Out For 'Les Miserables' Before Joining 'Cats'

Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock

Billy Idol Almost Appeared In 'Terminator 2'

Photo: Stewart Cook/Shutterstock

Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Sony Pictures Television/YouTube Originals

Alden Ehrenreich Nearly Starred In 'Gossip Girl'

Andrew H Walker/REX/Shutterstock

Ben Affleck Almost Starred In 'Office Space'

A Perez Meca/REX/Shutterstock

Christian Bale Almost Played George W. Bush In 2008's 'W'

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Benedict Cumberbatch Almost Starred In ‘True Blood’

Photo: Gregory pace/REX/Shutterstock

‘Saved By The Bell’ Star Tiffani Thiessen Almost Played Rachel on ‘Friends’

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Photo: Getty

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Selma Blair Was Almost On 'Dawson's Creek'

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Katherine Heigl Was Almost On ‘Dawson’s Creek’

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Bob Odenkirk Nearly Played Michael Scott On 'The Office'
Photo: Greg Lewis / ©AMC / Courtesy Everett Collection/CP Images
Before Steve Carell landed the now-iconic role of Michael Scott on "The Office", producers had another hilarious actor in mind.

“We were circling Bob Odenkirk. He was available. He had a great reputation in the comedy world, and he hadn’t yet become famous. He wasn’t really well known,” a producer says in the book The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s.

In the end, though, the producers felt Carell captured the "jerk" quality of the role better.

“The worst thing I have ever had to do ever,” casting agent Allison Jones says, “is to tell Bob Odenkirk’s agent that he didn’t get 'The Office'… Believe me, it was a bummer to make that call and I do suspect the show would have worked with Bob Odenkirk.”
Craig T. Nelson Was Almost 'Modern Family''s Jay Pritchett
Photo: CPImages
Craig T. Nelson came close to the role of Jay Pritchett on the hit sitcom "Modern Family".

According to Casting director Jeff Greenberg, the role, made famous by Ed O'Neill, almost went to Nelson but "He wanted star money, and it wasn’t a star show. It’s an ensemble show. I understand from his agent that he regretted his decision. I’m not surprised.”

Creator Steve Levitan added, "Meanwhile, all we kept hearing is that Ed O’Neill is the nicest person on the planet. We decided to pull the offer and go to Ed.”

Greenberg and Levitan's behind-the-scenes tea was revealed in the new tell-all book, Modern Family: The Untold Oral History of One of Television’s Groundbreaking Sitcoms.
Hulk Hogan Passed On 'The Wrestler'
AP Photo/Steve Nesius, Pool, File/CPImages
In a recent interview, WWE general manager Eric Bischoff claimed that Hulk Hogan turned down the role in "The Wrestler" that ultimately went to Mickey Rourke, winning him an Oscar nomination. "He had the opportunity," said Bischoff, explaining the WWE legend decided not to do it because he "probably looked at that script and went, ‘Eh, I am a broken-down, old, beat-up wrestler, I don’t want to play one in a movie.’ He was trying to run away from the reality, not embrace it at that point. So yeah, he did pass on it.”
Mark Ruffalo Turned Down 'Blue Valentine'

Mark Ruffalo was almost Dean in "Blue Valentine" before turning down the role. The part of Dean ultimately went to Ryan Gosling.

Ruffalo revealed the news that he was almost cast in an interview with Variety. The outlet wrote, “Ruffalo had long been a fan of 'The Place Beyond the Pines' director [Derek Cianfrance], who had tried and failed to cast him in Blue Valentine in a role eventually played by Ryan Gosling."
Reese Witherspoon And Kerry Washington Auditioned For 'Clueless'
Photo: BuzzFeed/YouTube
If things had gone differently, we would have had a very different Cher and Dionne.

In an interview with BuzzFeed, Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington both revealed that they "auditioned hard" for the lead roles in the '90s classic "Clueless".
Jessica Simpson Turned Down 'The Notebook'

Jessica Simpson revealed that she was offered the role in "The Notebook" that ultimately went to Rachel MacAdams. “I knew exactly what the movie was about because I had read the script,” Simpson wrote in her new memoir Open Book, revealing she passed on the part “because they wouldn’t budge on taking out the sex scene," which, she added, "would have been with Ryan Gosling, of all people.” In her book, she also reveals that she had a huge crush on Gosling when they were both co-starring on "The Mickey Mouse Club" back in the 1990s.
Don Cheadle Filmed A 'Fresh Prince' Spin-Off
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On "People's Party With Talib Kweli", Don Cheadle revealed he nearly starred in a "Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air" spin-off series in the 1990s. Cheadle, who played Will's Philadelphia friend Ice Tray in an episode of the show's first season, was such a hit with the audience and producers, a new sitcom called "In The House" was developed around his character.

Cheadle explained the pilot was filmed, but ultimately didn't get picked up by a network. "By the middle of our shooting - 'cause ... it's shot in front of a live audience, so you come to a table read Monday, Tuesday rehearse, Wednesday rehearse, Thursday do it in front of a live audience — so, by that Thursday, the producers said, 'We actually want to do a spin-off around your character.' And we shot a whole pilot. Didn't get picked up," he said.

The actor also revealed he was dating Karyn Parsons who played Hillary Banks at the time, but his appearance on the show was not connected to his love life. "It was totally random," he added.
Taylor Swift Tried Out For 'Les Miserables' Before Joining 'Cats'
Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock
Before appearing in Tom Hooper's film adaptation of the musical "Cats", Taylor Swift says she did screen tests for Hooper's 2012 musical adaptation of "Les Miserables" to play Eponine. During an appearance on Zane Lowe's New Music Daily on Apple Music's "Beats 1", the singer reveals, "I didn’t get it, but it was such an amazing experience just doing the screen test, and I was obviously like, ‘I’m not going to get this.'"
Billy Idol Almost Appeared In 'Terminator 2'
Photo: Stewart Cook/Shutterstock
Musician Billy Idol says he would have played a cop-impersonating T-1000 in 1991's "Terminator 2" if it wasn't for a motorcycle accident in 1990 that left him limping and unable to run. While speaking with Rolling Stone Music Now in light of the new "Terminator: Dark Fate", Idol looks back on his almost-role: "I had to act [in] that scene where he goes to the step-parents with the picture... But the trouble is that I had this terrible limp. And [director] James Cameron said, 'The only problem is, I really need you to be able to run.'"
Ralph Macchio Was Almost Marty McFly
Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Sony Pictures Television/YouTube Originals
"Back To The Future" would have looked a lot different as "The Karate Kid"'s Ralph Macchio almost had the part of Marty McFly.

Macchio added that Michael J. Fox was the "right guy" for the role while on "People Now."
Alden Ehrenreich Nearly Starred In 'Gossip Girl'
Andrew H Walker/REX/Shutterstock
Penn Badgley shot to stardom thanks to his breakout role as Dan Humphrey on "Gossip Girl", but the show's casting director, David Rapaport, reveals he originally had "Solo" star Alden Ehrenreich in mind for the role. "Before Penn was involved, I desperately wanted Alden Ehrenreich to play Dan," Rapaport revealed in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly. According to Rapaport, producers didn't think the 5-foot-9 actor was tall enough to act opposite love interest Blake Lively, who stands 5-foot-10, which ultimately led to Badgley being cast in the role.
Ben Affleck Almost Starred In 'Office Space'
A Perez Meca/REX/Shutterstock
Ron Livingston famously played an embezzling cubicle jockey in Mike Judge's "Office Space", but another actor who was in serious consideration for the role was Ben Affleck. During a recent panel discussion for the cult comedy's 20th anniversary, Judge revealed that he was feeling pressure to cast Affleck. “‘Good Will Hunting’ just came out, so the [studio] wanted Ben Affleck," said Judge, who pushed back. "I thought, ‘Well, I like him, but he’s tall alpha.’”
Christian Bale Almost Played George W. Bush In 2008's 'W'
Reuters
Before he played the Golden Globe-winning role of Dick Cheney in “Vice”, Christian Bale was up for another role as a prominent political figure, former U.S. President George W. Bush.

In 2008, Bale was tapped to portray Bush in Oliver Stone’s “W”.

“Well frankly, Christian’s a very methodical actor,” Stone told MTV at the time of the flick’s release. “And he has to have the makeup thing work for him.”

The role in "W" ultimately went to Josh Brolin and in 2018’s “Vice”, Sam Rockwell took on the role of the former U.S. President.
Benedict Cumberbatch Almost Starred In ‘True Blood’
Photo: Gregory pace/REX/Shutterstock
Ten years later, “True Blood” creator Alan Ball reveals it was difficult to find the right actor to play the good-looking vampire Bill Compton. Ball took his search to London, where he met Benedict Cumberbatch to read for Bill; unfortunately, he didn’t reveal why Cumberbatch would not be cast as one of TV’s sexiest vampires.
‘Saved By The Bell’ Star Tiffani Thiessen Almost Played Rachel on ‘Friends’
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“Saved by the Bell” star Tiffani Thiessen recently revealed she was up for the role as Rachel on the 1994 sitcom, “Friends”. In the end, the role of Rachel went to Jennifer Aniston.

“I was a little too young to the pairing of the rest of them,” Thiessen told Nikki Glaser during an interview on her SiriusXM radio show. The 44-year-old actress later applauded Aniston for her role, calling her “very, very funny”.

Thiessen is now staring in a Netflix sitcom, “Alexa and Kate”.
Denzel Washington Passed On ‘Seven’
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“’Seven’ script was too demonic," said Denzel while being interviewed by Jamie Foxx. Despite not starring in the film, Washington nevertheless thought the movie was great.
Kristin Davis Swaps Roles
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Kristin Davis may be one of the stars of "Sex and the City", but she was originally considered for another role. The show's creator Darren Star recently revealed he first offered the lead role of Carrie Bradshaw to Davis, not Sarah Jessica Parker.
Selma Blair Was Almost On 'Dawson's Creek'
Keystone
Katie Holmes role on "Dawson's Creek" almost went to Selma Blair.

The shows creator Kevin Williamson says, “I really loved Selma until, of course, I got the infamous videotape from the basement of the Holmes family in Toledo, Ohio."
Katherine Heigl Was Almost On ‘Dawson’s Creek’
Keystone Press
Beloved teen drama “Dawson’s Creek” almost had a very different Jen Lindley. Writer Kevin Williamson revealed Katherine Heigl almost nabbed the part that went to Michelle Williams. "She looked slightly older at that time. Even though she was younger, I just think she was more mature," he told EW. “She gave a great audition, I remember we were all sort of like, ‘Wow, she's good.'" But once Williams walked in the door and auditioned with a scene between Jen and her dying grandpa, Heigl was out of the picture.

Actors That Nearly Nabbed The Big Role

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