That article is a bit perplexing. Connery states that he read the books, read the script, and saw the movies.....and doesn't understand them. WTF Sean? It's all fantasy. What exactly did you not understand?

PanzerAggie06 said:

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That article is a bit perplexing. Connery states that he read the books, read the script, and saw the movies.....and doesn't understand them. WTF Sean? It's all fantasy. What exactly did you not understand?

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Ever see SNL Jeopardy?

I think I read somewhere that he turned down both Matrix and LOTR because he didn't understand them, then saw the successes they became and decided against his better judgment to sign on for the League of Extraordinary Gentleman despite not understanding the script.

Speaking of missed casting, that movie would have been loads better with a decent villain. He was good in Moulin Rouge, but he generally annoys me in anything else I've ever seen of his.

My favorite is that OJ Simpson was considered for The Terminator, but wasn't threatening enough. Also they didn't want a black man chasing around a white woman.

God I love irony.

PanzerAggie06 said:

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That article is a bit perplexing. Connery states that he read the books, read the script, and saw the movies.....and doesn't understand them. WTF Sean? It's all fantasy. What exactly did you not understand?

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Connery didn't understand why Gandalf wasn't driving a Lotus across Middle Earth banging hot Elven chicks and killing Nazgul with a toothpick dispenser that had a machine gun inside of it.

Spilner - it's straight from Peter Jackson's mouth on the DVD commentaries. Christopher Lee really wanted to be Gandalf, as he had known Tolkien in real life, but realized he was too old. Sean Connery was never contacted at all, just a media-created rumor. I love Sean Connery to death, but he tends to be a bit like my dearly departed grandmother and invent stories about himself that seem cool just to have something to talk about.

TCTTS said:

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Christopher Walken as Han Solo is who Lucas originally wanted in the role.

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There was...this...run...let's call it...a Kessel run....my ship...it made it...in 12...parsecs.

Broba Fett said:

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TCTTS said:

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Christopher Walken as Han Solo is who Lucas originally wanted in the role.

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There was...this...run...let's call it...a Kessel run....my ship...it made it...in 12...parsecs.

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Well done! If only Saturday Night Live had thought of this one joke 22 years ago. (starts at 0:58)

Hm, if so then I must have totally wiped it from my memory, as I've definitely heard the commentaries.

I know Lee desperately wanted the part and was too old for it.

However (and correct me if I'm wrong), I'm pretty sure the whole "Christopher Lee knew Tolkien in real life" thing is also played way up by the media.

As I recall, Lee said he saw him once at a pub, and went up to him and told him how much he liked his work. That was about the extent of it.

(Aside: Christopher Lee was about 100x cooler in life than Sean Connery could ever hope to be. It seems like Connery was all talk, and was also a woman beater. The only thing Lee hurt was the Nazis he murdered with knives.)

I wonder how much of Burt Reynolds was offered the role of Han Solo was made up by Burt Reynolds. I know he was in the running, but I've never seen anything that said he was offered and turned it down.

Wow. I had no idea. I just read his early life and military service sections of his wiki page. Amazing.

Bruce Almighty said:

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I wonder how much of Burt Reynolds was offered the role of Han Solo was made up by Burt Reynolds. I know he was in the running, but I've never seen anything that said he was offered and turned it down.

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I mean it is one of the best known ones out there.

I would think if it was not true Lucas would have negated it at some point.

Will Smith turning down Neo in the Matrix for Wild Wild West has to be a #1 seed.

I'll add this one though;

Dougray Scott, who played the villain in Mission Impossible 2, was originally casted to play Wolverine in the first X-Men movie. Scott was supposed to wrap MI2 in October 1999 to shoot X-Men, but the constant delays and uncertainty over the script made that look increasingly unlikely as the date approached. Here's a quote from the story at Screen Rant:

Quote:

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When it became clear Scott wouldn't be available, 21st Century Fox frantically worked to recast the part. Hugh Jackman, who was a relative unknown during this time, was cast after an audition and dived straight into the production. Fans of Wolverine were initially unhappy with this, finding Jackman too tall and clean-shaven for the character.

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To this day, Scott says it's one of his biggest regrets.

Urban Ag said:

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Wow. I had no idea. I just read his early life and military service sections of his wiki page. Amazing.

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Christopher Lee was also Ian Fleming's step-cousin, and one of his early choices for James Bond.

(Maybe even an inspiration for the character?)

And another Christopher Lee one - he was John Carpenter's first choice for Dr Loomis in Halloween.

Second choice was Peter Cushing, who also declined it.

Third was Donald Pleasance.

M.C. Swag said:

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To this day, Scott says it's one of his biggest regrets.

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Turning down the role that has put up $1.68 billion at the box office is one of his biggest regrets. What are the other ones? Turning down an invitation to the Playboy Mansion orgy?

Coppola had to fight hard to get Marlon Brando and Al Pacino cast in The Godfather.

For Vito the studio was pushing for Laurence Olivier. Others in the running were Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Quinn, and George C. Scott.

For Michael, the studio wanted someone well known and discussed Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert Redford.

Robert DeNiro was originally cast as Paulie, but they traded him out so he could work on a different film and of course brought him back to play Vito in Part II (one of my favorite performances ever).

I read recently that Matthew Modine turned down the role of Maverick in Top Gun

The Dougray Scott - Wolverine thing is really well documented. I have always felt legitimately awful for that guy for that decision. Hugh Jackman was a complete unknown at the time, and the rest is history.

Let's see if I can get this right. DiCaprio was originally cast as Pat Bateman as was Brad Pitt but the movie rights kept changing hands until Bale was cast as lead.
Christian Bale was also originally cast to play lead in Jarhead until something changed and Gyllenhall got the gig, then Gyllenhall was cast to play Batman but something happened and Bale got to be Batman.

Col. Parker basically screwed Elvis out of the lead role for "A Star Is Born" in '75-76.

M.C. Swag said:

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Will Smith turning down Neo in the Matrix for Wild Wild West has to be a #1 seed.

I'll add this one though;

Dougray Scott, who played the villain in Mission Impossible 2, was originally casted to play Wolverine in the first X-Men movie. Scott was supposed to wrap MI2 in October 1999 to shoot X-Men, but the constant delays and uncertainty over the script made that look increasingly unlikely as the date approached. Here's a quote from the story at Screen Rant:

Quote:

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When it became clear Scott wouldn't be available, 21st Century Fox frantically worked to recast the part. Hugh Jackman, who was a relative unknown during this time, was cast after an audition and dived straight into the production. Fans of Wolverine were initially unhappy with this, finding Jackman too tall and clean-shaven for the character.

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To this day, Scott says it's one of his biggest regrets.

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I vividly remember this one because it was really publicized. I recall reading comments from Jackman's fellow actors during development about the skepticism with Jackman and then when they saw him in character how blown away they were and all said, "He IS Wolverine."

Didn't see this thread until after I started one last night, but this one just blew me away. I can't imagine anyone else playing such an iconic role, thank goodness. My childhood would have been wildly different.

Quad Dog said:

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My favorite is that OJ Simpson was considered for The Terminator, but wasn't threatening enough. Also they didn't want a black man chasing around a white woman.

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Lance Henriksen was going to be the Terminator and Schwarzenegger was going to be Reese in Cameron's original vision. The studio wanted OJ in the title role.

bagger05 said:

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Coppola had to fight hard to get Marlon Brando and Al Pacino cast in The Godfather.

For Vito the studio was pushing for Laurence Olivier. Others in the running were Ernest Borgnine, Anthony Quinn, and George C. Scott.

For Michael, the studio wanted someone well known and discussed Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, and Robert Redford.

Robert DeNiro was originally cast as Paulie, but they traded him out so he could work on a different film and of course brought him back to play Vito in Part II (one of my favorite performances ever).

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I have seen the test screening of James Caan in his marine uniform as Michael Corleone and it is laughably awful.


It starts at the 25 second mark

Urban Ag said:

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I had an old memory pop up that Tom Selleck was originally cast for Indiana Jones. So I looked it up and that's true. However, Spielberg originally wanted Ford but Lucas was against it. So the cast Selleck. Then CBS refused to let him out of his Magnum PI contract to film, so he was dumped and Ford was cast three weeks before shooting began. And as it turned out, filming for the next season of Magnum PI didn't start until after Raiders had wrapped so he really could have done both. Thank you CBS for ensuring Tom Selleck was not Indy.

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I think Tom Selleck would have made a good Indy. It would have been different, but still good. But I think in such an alternate universe we'd be saying, "you know that Harrison Ford was almost cast as Indy?? I can't IMAGINE!!"

Likewise, I can't imagine Harrison Ford as Thomas Magnum. But I think in an alternate universe he would have been good there too (just different).

Eric Stoltz (Mask) was the original Marty.McFly before Zemeckis realized he was awful and fired him. It is weird seeing some of the original scenes shot with Stoltz in the lead.



Here is a fascinating article on how the firing went down, the studio agreed to the firing but they wouldn't let it happen immediately so they filmed for 2 or 3 more weeks with Stoltz knowing he wouldn't be in the final cut. As a method actor Stoltz also demanded to be called Marty on set.

https://www.vulture.com/2015/06/how-back-to-the-future-replaced-eric-stoltz.html

Frank Sinatra in Die Hard? Ol' Blue Eyes saying "Yippie kye yay"

TCTTS said:

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Christopher Walken as Han Solo is who Lucas originally wanted in the role.

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I feel like our reality was robbed from this man...



Delivering this line...



Oh what could have been.

hunter2012 said:

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TCTTS said:

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Christopher Walken as Han Solo is who Lucas originally wanted in the role.

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I feel like our reality was robbed from this man...



Delivering this line...



Oh what could have been.

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Was he going to randomly decide to ad lib that line as well?

According to this, Pacino was offered the role of Han.



Also, did not know Lindsay Lohan was offered the stripper role in The Hangover. That would've actually been perfect.