Jonah Hill Turned Down Not One But Three (!) Main Roles In $1B Franchise
The actor was afraid he would get typecast.
Jonah Hill is a Hollywood actor who gained popularity through comedic roles. In 2004 the premiere of the movie I Heart Huckabees took place, in which the actor got a cameo role.
The charismatic appearance of Jonah didn't go unnoticed by the directors, and a whole series of comedies followed, on the sets of which Hill could observe the work of professionals.
The recognition of the viewers and critics did not take long. Soon the actor appeared in the movie Superbad, which brought him nominations for the Teen Choice Awards and MTV Movie Awards.
The comedy directed by Greg Mottola was successful at the box office, grossing almost $170 million.
A series of comedies followed, mostly successful, but the actor turned down one of the comedy roles in the franchise that eventually earned more than $1 billion.
Jonah was offered three major roles in The Hangover, but turned them all down because he didn't want to be a hostage to his comedic image.
The actor admitted he was afraid of being remembered for the rest of his life as Superbad's funny guy.
Around the same time that The Hangover was filmed, the actor decided to drastically diversify his list of roles. Already in 2011, the movie Moneyball was released, where Jonah played although not the lead, but his first dramatic role.
It brought the actor his first Oscar nomination.
Later, the actor was cast in Martin Scorsese 's The Wolf of Wall Street. Hill got the role of the financial partner of the protagonist, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.
It is known that Jonah agreed to participate in this project for a modest fee of $60,000, while DiCaprio received $25 million.
Later, the artist admitted that he could not take any money, because every actor dreams of working with Scorsese. This was actor's second dramatic movie role, which again earned him an Oscar nomination.
It is unknown if the actor regrets his decision not to appear in The Hangover franchise which grossed more than $1,4 billion, but considering that he has more than successfully followed through with his plan to become a more versatile actor, it is safe to assume that he believes his decision was the right one.