Actors Who Turned Down Massive Roles - Now They Regret It

Do you ever watch some of your favorite movies and think that they had the perfect cast? Or do you sometimes feel other actors could have fulfilled the roles much better?

▬Contents of this video▬
00:00 - Intro
00:22 - Tom Selleck
02:14 - Christopher Walken
03:40 - John Travolta
04:49 - Burt Reynolds
06:22 - Jack Nicholson
07:44 - Sean Connery
08:47 - Outro

You’ll be surprised at some of the names you’ll see! Did you know that Tom Selleck was originally considered to play Indiana Jones? Tom Selleck was the star of Magnum PI – one of the biggest TV shows of the 80s.

As such, he turned down the role of the archaeologist Indiana Jones as he was committed to his TV career. He’s had a great career with many great roles, but he’s also missed out on some great film work.

But he’s not the only one! Another one of Harrison Ford's great characters was Han Solo in the Star Wars films. But before Harrison Ford secured the role, Christopher Walken was asked to audition for the role. While he no doubt gave a great audition, Harrison Ford managed to win George Lucas over!

One probably can’t imagine anyone but Tom Hanks playing Forrest Gump. But did you know that John Travolta was once considered for the role? He was facing a setback in his career and was looking for a role that would change his fate. What was the role that he chose over Forrest Gump?

One of the most iconic American actors of all time was Burt Reynolds. There’s no shortage of great roles that he played. But there’s also no shortage of great roles that he turned down!

He’s not the only one, of course. Jack Nicholson also had many great roles throughout his career. But there are many great roles that he turned down, including some that launched the careers of other actors.

And what about Sir Sean Connery? He became an icon of cinema through James Bond. But were there any other iconic roles that he turned down?

Let’s learn about some actors who turned down massive roles – now they regret it!

Actors Who Turned Down Massive Roles - Now They Regret It

[jerryschramm]

Selleck wanted to play Indy, but he was under contract to be in "Magnum", and the producers wouldn't let him have the time off to make the movie. So Lucas (producer) and Spielberg (director) went back to their original pick, Harrison Ford. Lucas didn't want him in the role, because he was already Han Solo, and was afraid he was getting too dependent on Ford in his movies.

[doilyhead]

All the right actors ended up in the right roles.

[richardmark]

Tom Selleck did not turn down Indiana Jones. The whole saga of him not being allowed to play the part because of his Magnum contract has been widely discussed and documented.

[shanny]

I think Jack Nicholson in Silence of the Lambs would have been awesome!

[rony]

Burt Reynolds also turned down the role in terms of endearment which went to Jack Nicholson who won the Oscar.

[markrobertdevison]

I'm so happy Hanks was Forrest instead of Travolta.

[thespicemelange.]

I think the best movie Christopher Walken stared in was The Prophecy, he absolutely scared the shit out of me in that movie.

[WWChampion]

Billy Crystal turned down the role of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story and he regretted it. He made of for it when he took on the role of Mike Wazowski in Monsters Inc. another Pixar film.

[garymorris]

I could see Rod Steiger as Vito Corleone.

[barryfields]

Sean Connery also turned down the part of Morpheus in the Matrix, because he didn’t understand it.

[LifesPeachy]

*Of all the people mentioned...I think it's Burt Reynolds who made the most mistakes. He didn't have much of an eye for picking the winners! I can see him in a lot of the roles he passed up like 007 Die Hard, and Pretty Woman.*

[sylviahouder]

Harrison Ford was perfect in the role of Han Solo as you always felt bit of humor in this role.

[joansmith]

Christopher Walken could of taken any role and made it interesting.

[GetMeThere]

I can DEFINITELY imagine Jack Nicholson being perfect for Bad Santa, LOL.

[annetteathanasatos]

They were all terrific actors, & were cast perfect for the rolls they played. Thank you for all your great performances.

[williamhesprich]

You forgot to mention Christopher Walken's movie role in The Dead Zone. Very believable performance in a far out story.

[questfortruth]

Seems to me, Harrison Ford is the big winner in getting iconic roles other actors turned down.
And in the reverse, Burt Reynolds seems to have turned down a lot of iconic roles that would've worked out well for him.

[toddfrank]

An older movie but still an important one was Stalag 17. The lead part of J.J. Sefton was not originally offered to William Holden. Charlton Heston turned it down first. The right guy got the part. Holden won the Oscar for it.

[JamesHerington]

Before he died Burt Reynolds was offered the role of George Spahn in the film "Once Upon a time in Hollywood" he did show up for rehearsals but his death opened up the role to Bruce Dern

[greghoffman]

I think the movies were just fine the way they turned out. I can't see them any other way now.