5 Actors Who Rejected a Role and Ended Up Kicking Themselves

Michael Keaton, Lost

The creators of the sci-fi drama series Lost wanted to see the popular American actor Michael Keaton, known by his work in the Batman movies, in the leading role of Dr. Jack Shephard. The character that finds himself on a mysterious island after a plane crash. However, the actor refused, and the role went to little-known Matthew Fox.

Needless to say, thanks to this series, he became famous all over the world, and after such a success, his career went uphill. It is interesting that Michael was not happy with the fact that, according to the script, Dr. Shephard dies soon after the crash, so he did not want to get involved in such a short-lived project.

When Fox was approved for the role of the doctor, however, the script was rewritten, and the actor was involved in all seasons of the project.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Boogie Nights

The director dreamed of having popular actor and rising star Leonardo DiCaprio star in his film. However, at the same time, Leo was offered to work on one of the best projects in his career. Director James Cameron thought that he would be perfect in the role of Jack Dawson in his new film Titanic .

DiCaprio had to make a hard choice, and he agreed to work with the famous James Cameron. So the creator of Boogie Nights had to find another actor and it was Mark Wahlberg, to whom this work has brought big success.

However, the actor himself was not very happy about the experience, because he was ashamed that he portrayed a porn star in the film. By the way, Leonardo then said in one of the interviews that he was worried about the fact that he was not comfortable declining the offer to star in Boogie Nights.

Meg Ryan, Pretty Woman

In the early 90s, the creators of the movie Pretty Woman could not find an actress for the lead role of Vivian Ward. Many refused, as they did not want to play a lady of the night. And Meg Ryan was no different, though the creators wanted to see her in this role more than anyone else, she refused, thinking that it could affect her career.

Then the creators offered the job to the novice and little-known actress Julia Roberts, who turned out to be brilliant at this role. She was proclaimed one of the most successful and best young actresses. Of course, after such a perfect start, Julia's career took off.

Tom Cruise, Iron Man

Once Marvel offered the famous Hollywood actor the lead role in the Iron Man movie. However, Tom considered the script too weak, so he refused to star in a boring, in his opinion, project.

Eventually Robert Downey Jr. got the role, and thanks to that became famous throughout the world again, and now critics recognized him as a talented actor, one of the best in Hollywood.

Dana Delany, Sex and the City

In the film Live Nude Girls, Dana's character together with her friends constantly discussed men and other topics of concern to women. That lead to the creators of the series Sex and the City wanting the actress to portray Carrie Bradshaw, believing that she is the best fit for the role.

But Delany wanted to do something new, claiming that this type of character was already boring for her. The actress refused, and Sarah Jessica Parker was approved for the role of Carrie. Today it is hard to imagine that the central character of the cult series would have been played by someone else.