Uncast roles: Who should have been in these movies?

How many times has an actor been perfectly cast for a role, only for things to shift for one reason or another—leaving us stuck thinking we can't imagine anyone else in that part?
But, let's give it a shot...

To start things off—most of you probably know this—Steven Spielberg originally wanted Tom Selleck for the role of Indiana Jones!
However, he was already locked into a contract with the producers of the "Magnum" series.

I can't help but wonder... what goes through Selleck's mind whenever he sees that name, Indiana Jones...?! 🙄

(In that show, he wore those dreadfully designed jeans—paired with the absolute worst combinations of Hawaiian shirts and baggy trousers, plus sneakers that even a plowman with zero interest in fashion would have rejected. Honestly, this is just a long off-topic rant about terrible costume design; b-t-w, neither Eastwood nor Selleck ever quite mastered the art of "casual clothes"...)😎

For the role of Catwoman in Batman Returns—Tim Burton actually had his heart set on Sean Young... but back then, in the early '90s, she was having some pretty intense run-ins with the producers...
She actually said it—journalists were screaming about it on every front page—that they were pressuring her to sleep with Warren Beatty... that she refused, and that’s exactly why she can't land a leading role in Hollywood...

And so that role went to Michelle Pfeiffer—and we’ve all seen those stories about how she had to push herself through intense aerobics just to squeeze into that tight costume...
Now that I've actually given it some thought—it really does seem like Sean Young would have been perfect for that role, wouldn't it...

There’s this incredibly funny scene in "Ed Wood" where "Orson Welles" complains to "Johnny Depp" about being forced to have "Charlton Heston" play a "Mexican Man"... though we all know he's actually talking about "Touch of Evil"... 🙄
That was the spark for this thread.

Do any of you have a favorite story regarding those "what if" casting decisions?

Jean Reno actually passed on playing Agent John Smith in The Matrix.

I can't help but wonder if we should have gone with Burt Reynolds or maybe Christopher Walken to play Han Solo in Star Wars.

nimblemarlin17 said:Jean Reno actually turned down the role of Agent John Smith in The Matrix.

Honestly, it worked out better that way—Hugo Weaving was brilliant in that part. He’s easily the most impactful character in the whole movie.

John Travolta was actually lined up to play Melvin Udall in "As Good as It Gets".

Michael Douglas actually stumbled into the role in "Basic Instinct" quite by accident, stepping in right where lonefox373 was originally supposed to be.

Luchino Visconti actually had Burt Lancaster forced on him for his movie; apparently, Visconti was yelling, "I don't want that cowboy!"
I mean, let's be real, Lancaster totally crushed it in that masterpiece, and then Visconti ended up working with him again later—totally by choice this time.

Beatrice Dall was actually lined up to star alongside Mia Wallace in *Sixth Sense*—but apparently, those puritanical Americans couldn't get past her history of hashish possession and aggressive behavior... so she never even got her work visa for the States...

Billy Idol was actually lined up for the lead in Oliver Stone's The Doors—Stone was absolutely thrilled about the casting. But then, one night, suffering from a bout of insomnia, Idol ended up riding his bike while totally wasted and heavily medicated... he crashed so hard that doctors weren't even sure they wouldn't have to amputate the leg.
He missed out on the role, though—thankfully he recovered...

Sophia Williams said:Beatrice Dall was actually supposed to star alongside Mia Wallace in
Sixth Sense ...

I remember hearing some chatter once that she was originally lined up to play Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction.

Here is a little more Pulp Fiction casting trivia from IMDb:

Daniel Day-Lewis actually wanted the part of Vincent Vega, but Quentin Tarantino passed on him to go with John Travolta instead.

For the role of Mia Wallace, they looked at everyone from Isabella Rossellini and Meg Ryan to Daryl Hannah and Joan Cusack, but ultimately, Tarantino says he liked Michelle Pfeiffer the best of the bunch.

Even Sylvester Stallone was briefly in the running to play Butch.

Originally, the character of Butch was written as a rising boxing star, and while Matt Dillon was in serious talks for the part, he never officially signed on. Because of that shift, Quentin Tarantino decided to rework the character and ended up offering it to Bruce Willis, who was actually pretty bummed about missing out on the role of Vincent.

Richard Hernandez13 said:There were rumors that she was originally supposed to play Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction.

Personally, I wouldn't have been opposed to it.
I absolutely adore Uma Thurman—but I don't think I could give up Beatrice that easily...

(And how did James Woods manage to lose out to his own agents—who apparently didn't mention that Quentin Tarantino was offering him a role in Reservoir Dogs...?)

As for Michelle Pfeiffer, though—I just can't picture her as Mia Wallace... she feels a bit too old for it... well...🙄

So, if I’m remembering this right, John Travolta actually passed on the lead in American Gigolo. That was the role that eventually made Richard Gere a huge star, while Travolta just sort of drifted into a long cinematic slumber in the meantime.
🙂

man, this one is the absolute best:

Originally, they actually had Dustin Hoffman lined up for the role of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner... get this... they were having serious talks with him for weeks until the whole thing just fizzled out.
It’s probably a good thing they ended up giving the part to Harrison Ford. I mean, what would Blade Runner even be without him????

Look, I have no idea who was destined to be passed over for which role, but this is pretty much on topic:

http://www.somethingawful.com/articles.php?a=336&p=2

Instead of Humphrey Bogart, they really should have gone with that era's quintessential tough guy, the now totally forgotten George Raft. The rest is history...

Peter Ustinov actually turned down the role of Inspector Peter Sellers!!
His reasoning—it just felt too silly for him...
🙄