Many of the films that audiences have grown to love were initially conceived to feature another actor but due to many reasons did not come to fruition. Actors such as Sam Worthington and Matthew McConaughey have lost out on roles due to creative differences or other reasons. Tom Cruise was apparently rejected for Edward Scissorhands since he asked too many questions to director Tim Burton.
Worthington also had a similar experience while he was being considered for the role of Hal Jordan in Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern. While the film eventually cast Ryan Reynolds and was met with negative reviews, the Avatar star reportedly lost out on the role after asking many logistical questions about the universe.
Sam Worthington Was Rejected From Green Lantern
Sam Worthington rose to global stardom when he was cast in James Camron’s epic sci-fi adventure blockbuster Avatar. The Australian actor played the protagonist Jake Sully, who joins the tribe of Pandora after learning the evil practices of the human army that has come to colonize the land.
Worthington reprised his role in last year’s Avatar: The Way of the Water and has also worked on the film Terminator: Salvation. The Avatar films turned him into an A-list star to look out for with many franchises hoping to sign on Cameron’s latest find. After all, he was the one who gave Leonardo DiCaprio his first blockbuster.
Worthington revealed to Variety recently that he was up for the role of Green Lantern in the 2011 film adaptation of the beloved DC comics character. However, he could not get on board with the powers of the ring and the suit which did not work for the team creatively. The Australian actor said,
“It didn’t make much sense to me — the suit comes out of his skin? And I was like, ‘He’s got this powerful ring that can create anything. Well, what can beat the ring?’ The answer was nothing. I was like, ‘Well, something needs to beat it, or it won’t be very interesting.’”
The studio ultimately passed on Sam Worthington and cast Ryan Reynolds instead. Worthington may have dodged a bullet as the film was heavily panned upon release with Reynolds himself regretting the project.
Actors Who Lost Out On Classic Roles
Having creative differences with the director is one way to be out of a job when one is an actor. Similar to Sam Worthington’s Green Lantern experience, Mission Impossible star Tom Cruise was first considered and then rejected for the film Edward Scissorhands. While director Tim Burton was not initially convinced by the actor, he reportedly still met him.
However, his fears were realized when Cruise started asking many logistical questions about the character, who is a synthetic being given scissors for hands by an inventor. Cruise also reportedly wanted to change the melancholic and tragic ending of the film, which ultimately sealed the decision not to cast him for the role. Johnny Depp won the role instead.
Sam Worthington again was considered to headline the James Bond franchise after Pierce Brosnan’s exit and was reportedly a top contender along with Man of Steel star Henry Cavill. However, creative differences again were a huge reason why he did not get the part and Daniel Craig was cast instead.
