Johnny Depp Saved $278M Angelina Jolie Movie after Tom Cruise, Avatar Star Sam Worthington Both Rejected Humongous $20M Payday

Johnny Depp Saved $278M Angelina Jolie Movie after Tom Cruise, Avatar Star Sam Worthington Both Rejected Humongous $20M Payday
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Angelina Jolie has a lot of movies under her belt. Sometimes she is an action star in movies like Wanted and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Somewhere she plays romance. She also has supernatural features to her resume including Disney’s Maleficent franchise. She joined Marvel Cinematic Universe to appear in the 2021 movie Eternals where she played the role of Thena.

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Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie. Source: Columbia Pictures

Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s The Tourist stars Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in the leading roles. The movie could not impress critics but did decently at the Box office, grossing over $278 million at the worldwide box office while it made under $100 million.

Also read: “It was a huge turn-on”: Angelina Jolie Said She Had the ‘Best S*x Ever’ With Denzel Washington After Divorcing Ex-Husband

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Other Actors Were Considered for the Leads Before Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp

Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp shooting The Tourist in Venice
Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp in the shooting of The Tourist in Venice. Source: Columbia Pictures

Earlier Tom Cruise was considered for the role of Frank Tupelo and he was in the project for a while. Later he moved on to a Fox project named Knight and Day with Walk the Line director James Mangold.

Later, Australian actor Sam Worthington reportedly took over the role from Tom Cruise in the French spy thriller. Before getting into The Tourist, Worthington last starred in Terminator Salvation and had James Cameron’s Avatar and Clash of the Titans franchise lined up. 

Along with Worthington, Charlize Theron was set to appear in the movie. As per reports, Theron has long been attached to the project and was last seen alongside Will Smith in Hancock. She was also set to appear in The Burning Plain, the directorial debut of Guillermo Arriaga and John Hillcoat’s Cormac McCarthy adaptation sci-fi drama, The Road. 

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Finally, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp agreed to join the movie. Later, Jolie said that she agreed to be in the film because of the timing and location of the film. 

“Honestly, this one came about… I had finished Salt and Brad [Pitt] was to work next and he had a small delay in his film, in Moneyball, and so we had a few months and I questioned if there was anything out there that shot in a great location,” Jolie said.

Following the decision to take on the project, Johnny Depp was later attached as well. “I was interested and then [director] Florian [Henckel von Donnersmarck] came on board and then Johnny [Depp] and it was just a pleasure,” she added.

The movie was shot in Venice. Depp was paid $20 million and Jolie earned  $19 million for her role in the film.

Also read: “I didn’t know if I had more to offer”: Angelina Jolie’s Role in ‘Gia’ Pushed Her To the Limits, Reflected $160M Actor’s Own Dark Origins

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Angelina Jolie Really Enjoyed Working With Johnny Depp in The Tourist

Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie
Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie. Source: Columbia Pictures

The Tourist was the first collaboration of the two actors and Jolie revealed that she had a blast working with the Pirates of the Caribbean star. Talking to IGN, Jolie stated that the actors got along right from the beginning of the movie.

“Oh, he’s just such a nice guy. You walk into someone’s office and you see what’s important to them. He’s got lots of books and lots of pictures of his children. So it’s immediately somebody you feel at ease with. He’s a real, experimental, deeply feeling artist, who gives a lot and tries a lot and is very gracious on set to everybody,” Jolie stated.

Further, Jolie revealed that Depp had a tremendous sense of humor which she didn’t realize at first but was appreciative of it. She also said that they have wasted a lot of time shooting due to Depp’s silliness on set.

“There’s some footage floating round, which I’m surprised hasn’t surfaced… God, there was a good 20 minutes, half-an-hour early on where we could not stop laughing. We wasted a lot of film. And got a lot of producers frustrated. The outtakes of this I’m sure are very funny.”

Even though the movie was average among critics, the pair had fun on set during shooting. The movie also stars Paul Bettany, Rufus Sewell, Steven Berkoff, and Igor Jijikine. The feature received three Golden Globe nominations including the best motion picture category. The lead pair has received two Golden Globe nominations for best actor and best actress for their performances. 

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Also read: “I feel alive when I’m afraid”: Angelina Jolie’s Mental And Physical Health Took A Dreadful Hit While Filming Simon West’s $274M Box Office Success

Source: IMDB.

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Written by Lachit Roy

Articles Published: 1031

Lachit Roy is a seasoned writer specializing in science and entertainment news. Armed with a postgraduate degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from Tezpur University, he brings a wealth of knowledge and skill to his craft.

Lachit is particularly passionate about crafting engaging content on entertainment news and trends. A dedicated movie enthusiast, he possesses an in-depth understanding of the cinematic world and takes joy in disseminating the latest updates to the global fandom. When not immersed in writing, Lachit can be found indulging in his love for movies and series, occasionally tending to his garden, but predominantly expanding his expertise in the realms of his interests.