Some actors are associated by the audience with a very specific role. In some cases, however, someone else was intended for that role. You can find 10 of the most significant rejections in film history in this article.
When a film is being shot, producers usually hold a casting or approach the desired actors directly. Often, major roles are turned down until a suitable candidate is found.
In this list, we present to you 10 actors who were offered iconic roles. They all said No
for various reasons and may regret it afterward, as each of these roles made their actors even more famous and left a mark in film history.
Will Smith: Neo in Matrix
Matrix was released in 1999 and captivated audiences with its original story full of philosophical questions. The lead role of Neo was offered to Will Smith among others, who had already celebrated successes with Bad Boys and Men in Black.
However, the actor declined and instead filmed the comedy Wild Wild West. Years later, he commented on this decision in a video on YouTube: “I am not proud of it.”
Wild Wild West is considered a failure and holds a meager score of 16% (130 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes. Matrix became a success and has also left its mark culturally.
Keanu Reeves, who was cast instead of Smith, was already known prior, but Matrix cemented his position in film history. Smith fittingly remarked that Keanu was the perfect choice and that he likely would have “ruined” Matrix.
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