Some Hollywood actors are such huge sensations that it’s impossible to believe they ever faced rejections. Today, they have emerged as the faces of popular franchises or iconic characters. But these stars had to struggle a lot of rejections and auditions before Hollywood recognized their potentials. Despite their fame, many fans have no idea that these actors competed for some legendary roles but didn’t land the film. History would have been different had these celebs played the iconic characters. Find out the 10 Hollywood stars who also auditioned for famous movie roles.
Jennifer Lawrence for Twilight
If given the opportunity, whom would you prefer between Kristen Stewart and Jennifer Lawrence for Bella Swan? Guess, we already know the answer to it. Before Lawrence became one of the biggest and the highest-earning actresses in Hollywood, she had competed against Kristen Stewart for the “Twilight” franchise. But the casting directors chose Stewart over the future Academy Award-winning actress. In fact, this gem faced plenty of rejections before establishing herself in the industry.
Tom Selleck for Raiders of the Lost Ark
Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were at a dissent over the casting choice for Indiana Jones. While Spielberg rooted for Harrison Ford, Lucas wanted Tom Selleck to play his character. In the end, Selleck got shortlisted from his auditions, but he couldn’t get on board due to prior commitments. His contract with “Magnum P.I.” prevented him from working on two projects at the same time.
Millie Bobby Brown For Logan
The young and phenomenal actress rose to prominence from the Netflix series “Stranger Things”. Millie had also auditioned for X-23 in “Logan” before her breakthrough role. Even though she lost the film to Dafne Keen, she earned more success by playing a similar character on Netflix. Both Eleven and X-23 were subjected to lab experiments and need to work on their local language skills.
Robert De Niro for The Godfather
Francis Ford Coppola had found his Michael Corleone in Al Pacino and wouldn’t settle for anyone else but him. At the same time, Robert De Niro was aiming for Sonny Corleone but got offered for Paulie Gatto. Things got complicated when Al Pacino had to back out from “The Godfather”, as it was conflicting with his timings with “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight”. So, Coppola made a deal and traded De Niro for Al Pacino. In return, he cast Robert De Niro in “The Godfather 2” for Vito Corleone. It turned out to be even bigger than the previous offer and earned him an Academy Award.
Kurt Russell for Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope
Harrison Ford owes his stardom to the “Star Wars” franchise where he earned his big break. At that time, he was an unknown artist who was competing against the well-renowned Kurt Russell for Han Solo. His chances of landing the iconic role were slim until Kurt dropped out at the last moment for an ABC show. Would Ford still be the face of “Blade Runner” and “Indiana Jones” had it not been for “Star Wars”?
Miles Teller for La La Land
Miles Teller and Damien Chazelle were ready to team up again after the success of “Whiplash”. The actor was almost ready to back out of his existing project with “War Dogs” to begin shooting for “La La Land”. But before he could do it, Miles was reportedly told by his sources that Damien was looking for other actors for the film.
Scarlet Johansson for Jumanji
Just like many actors on this list, Scarlet Johansson also faced her share of struggle before becoming one of the highest-earning actresses. The MCU star endured many refusals during her youth. One of them was “Jumanji” that picked Kirsten Dunst over her.
Matthew McConaughey for Titanic
How does one choose between two extremely talented men? Both Matthew McConaughey and Leonardo DiCaprio are two of the most versatile actors who can take their audience by storm. It turns out that even Matthew had auditioned for Jack Dawson in Titanic. History would have been almost different had James Cameron not rooted for Leonardo so adamantly.
Brad Pitt for Backdraft
Brad Pitt and William Baldwin had auditioned together for “Backdraft” and “Thelma and Lois”. But it was William who had aced in both the auditions. In the end, he dropped “Thelma and Lois” to star in “Backdraft”, thus leaving the spot open for Brad. However, appearing in “Thelma and Lois” turned out to be a stepping stone for the actor.
Josh Hutcherson for The Amazing Spider-Man
Before landing a significant role in “The Hunger Games” franchise, Josh Hutcherson had applied for Marvel. The announcement of Sony renewing the Spider-Man franchise after Tobey Maguire had caught Josh’s attention. It prompted him to send a video of himself displaying his combat skills, but the studios went with Andrew Garfield.
