10. Black Widow- IRON MAN 2
Scarlett Johansson may have kicked butt as the undercover spy in IRON MAN 2, but the part was actually meant for Emily Blunt. Sadly, the British actress had to drop out because of her commitments to GULLIVER’S TRAVELS.
9. Alice- ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Did Anne Hathaway want to play the White Queen in Tim Burton’s remake because it was more challenging? Maybe, but Hathaway said in an interview that she turned down Alice because she “had been there, done that sort of pretty-girl-in-a-fairy-dress role” in THE PRINCESS DIARIES.
8. Jake Sully- AVATAR
Who passed up the lead role in the highest-grossing movie of all time? Matt Damon. Apparently, there were conflicts with his BOURNE ULTIMATUM schedule. Sam Worthington was eventually tapped, but another Jake could have gone blue for the movie. Jake Gyllenhaal was reportedly on director James Cameron’s wish list of actors.
7. Indiana Jones- INDIANA JONES
Magnum P.I.’s Tom Selleck was this close to donning Indy’s fedora: he had already accepted the role! Too bad his show wouldn’t let him have time off to film, though Harrison Ford did luck out, scoring the job because George Lucas already knew him from STAR WARS.
6. Spider Man – SPIDER-MAN
Sure, there were a lot of people competing to be Peter Parker in Sam Raimi’s SPIDER-MAN, but one of the closest to land this dream part was Freddie Prinze, Jr. Director Raimi later chose Tobey Maguire.
5. Forrest Gump- FORREST GUMP
It’s hard to imagine anyone else as this beloved character, but before Tom Hanks, John Travolta was supposed to play Forrest. Travolta still admits that he should have never given up the role.
4. Neo- THE MATRIX
What? Keanu Reeves wasn’t fated to be Neo?! That’s right: Will Smith was actually offered the part first, but said no so that he could be in WILD WILD WEST… which was probably a mistake.
3. Marty McFly- BACK TO THE FUTURE
Michael J. Fox’s career took off because BACK TO THE FUTURE, but he almost didn’t get a chance to play Marty McFly. Eric Stoltz was originally cast, but Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg decided after filming started that he just wasn’t right for the part.
2. James Bond- CASINO ROYALE
Wolverine in a suit? Yes, that almost happened. Hugh Jackman was one of the names attached to play 007, but Daniel Craig eventually took on the Bond persona in CASINO ROYALE. Good thing Hugh had X-Men to fall back on!
1. Han Solo- STAR WARS
Robert De Niro, Sylvester Stallone, Al Pacino and Christopher Walken were among the many actors up for the role of this “scruffy-looking Nerf herder,” but it was Ford who got it. How? He won George Lucas over after being hired to read Han Solo’s lines during other people’s auditions.