What if? Actors that turned down Famous Roles

What if Keanu Reeves didn't play "Neo" in the Matrix, or Russell Crowe wasn't in Gladiator? Well before either was cast someone else had to say "NO." Everyone makes mistakes, Hollywood stars are no different. Which actors turned down roles which eventually led to academy awards? What about blockbusters that set the box office on fire? When actors choose which new project to tackle there are obviously many factors. It can be hard to judge blockbuster from flop sometimes simply from a script, other times money can be a factor. An actors prior commitments can also keep them from signing on to a movie they are offered. Below we bring you a handful of famous movie roles that actors turned down and wonder what could have been.

(These are in no particular order, just ones that stand out to us)

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Bette Midler as "Annie Wilkes" in Misery

Bette Midler turned down the lead role in the film adaptation of Stephen King's Misery, which landed Kathy Bates an Oscar for Best Actress. Its hard to imagine Midler playing the insane and obsessive "Annie Wilkes" but if she had been able to capture the same magic as Kathy Bates her career defiantly could have played out differently. Midler can be found in the new "Cats and Dogs" sequel (ouch) and only has 10 movie credits over the past 15 years. Meanwhile Kathy Bates has remained relevant on the big screen with roles in some of the most memorable movies to come out over the past 20 years.

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Will Smith as "Neo" in the Matrix

Will Smith is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today, so its hard to say that he would have been a bigger name if he had accepted this role. However the biggest black eye on his resume to date is probably "Wild Wild West" which he opted to make instead of "The Matrix." Oops. The Matrix became a Sci-Fi masterpiece, and spawned two sequels. Meanwhile Wild Wild West flopped with the critics and the fans and is best remembered for being one of the biggest bombs of the 90's (although it did have a hit song performed by Smith) Smith has said that not doing this movie is the biggest regret of his career, although he also said he could not have done as good a job as Reeves. Like Keanu said....."Whoa"

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Molly Ringwald as "Vivian" in Pretty Women

Few decisions on this list may have ultimately shaped Hollywood the way this one did. Ringwald was the teen queen of the 80's with hits like "Pretty in Pink", "The Breakfast Club" and "Sixteen Candles." However her career fizzled in the 90's and was never able to recapture the success of her teenage years.  If she had taken on the very "adult" role of "Vivian" the prostitute in Garry Marshall's romantic comedy her star would of only continued to rise. Instead the role eventually went to Julia Roberts, who was far from the producers top choice. Roberts went on to be "America's Sweetheart" for the next decade and became the first actress to command a 20 million dollar pay day. Would Roberts have become the mega star she turned out to be without a role in the film that many people still list as their all time favorite? Ringwald also turned down the "Molly" role in early 90's hit "Ghost."

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Vanessa Williams as "Leticia" in Monster's Ball

While Williams has proved herself as a multi-faceted performer with her success as a performing artist and Broadway star she never really reached the top of movie-stardom. While she wasn't the only one to turn down this controversial role (Angela Bassett) she seems to have lost the most since her movie career has basically been non-existent. Williams said no because of the full frontal nudity that came along with the role of "Leticia." Meawhile Halle Berry went on to star and took home the Oscar for Best Actress, becoming the first African-American women to do so in the process.

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John Travolta as "Forrest" in Forrest Gump

While its very hard to envision anybody else in all the roles we have listed here, this one is the hardest one for us to fathom. Tom Hanks delivered one of the most iconic performances of recent memory as the mentally challenged yet wildly influential "Forrest Gump" in the 1994 movie of the same name. It's hard to call this one a mistake though as Travolta instead starred in the Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" which is usually considered one of the better movies of recent time. Both roles were nominated for "Best Actor" with Hanks beating our Travolta for the Oscar. Could Travolta have filmed both roles? Would he have been nominated for both roles if he did? These are the questions we love. Travolta also reportedly turned down the lead role in "The Green Mile" which also eventually went to Hanks.

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Michael Madsen as "Vincent Vega" in Pulp Fiction

Quentin Tarantino wrote the role as "Vic Vega" the same character who was portrayed by Madsen in his previous hit "Reservoir Dogs." When Madsen turned down this role because of  "scheduling conflicts" Tarantino changed it to Vincent Vega and cast Travolta. As stated above Travolta was nominated for an Oscar and this role is credited with saving his career. While Madsen has remained busy, would the role in Pulp Fiction pushed him into super stardom? In the "Tarantino-verse" the Vega characters are brothers and Tarantino has stated he wanted to make a prequel to both movies about the two. Count us as sad we never got to see that one.

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Mel Gibson as "Maximus" in Gladiator

Would it have even been fair if Mel Gibson was able to say he was the star of Braveheart and Gladiator? We say that's too much awesomeness for one actor. It almost happened though as Mel Gibson was offered, and turned down the title role in the 2001 Best Picture Academy Award winner. Instead Russell Crowe gave an extremely memorable performance and became everyone's favorite Gladiator. Landing himself the Best Actor Oscar along the way. While Crowe continues to land A-List roles, Gibson is best known for being a real life cartoon character in recent years. However it's hard to blame his personal (and mental) issues on saying no to this role.

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Nicolas Cage as "Randy the Ram" in the Wrestler

Nic Cage's financial problems have been no secret, and neither has his lack of meaningful roles in recent years. This years "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" will go down as one of his biggest bombs. So it would have been nice to see him get a quality role like Randy the Ram in 2008's The Wrestler. Cage actually initially accepted the role and even began research by attending wrestling events. In the end though he decided he wouldn't be able to get into the right shape by the time filming was to start and he dropped out. Mickey Rourke was his replacement and went on to be nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. The role also has seemingly breathed new life into Rourke's career.

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Tom Selleck as "Indiana Jones" in Raiders of the Lost Ark

Selleck and his famed mustache had to turn down the role of the famed explorer because of the commitment to his hit T.V. show "Magnum P.I." Instead the role went to Harrison Ford, and Indy became an international film icon.  Ford went on to star in 3 sequels, spanning nearly 30 years. Meanwhile Selleck was never able to turn his T.V success into major film success. Would Tom Selleck have become a major action star if had put on the hat and carried the whip? Its hard to imagine the Indy franchise ever failing with Speilberg and Lucas in charge.

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Jack Nicholson as "Michael Corleone" in the Godfather

Nicholson is often regarded as one of the best actors of the past 50 years, and the Godfather is usually in the conversation for greatest movie ever made. The two nearly went down in history together. Instead Jack turned down the role (along with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty) saying he was wrong for it. Instead the role eventually went to Al Pacino, launching his career. Obviously you shouldn't feel bad for Jack though, he still managed to become one of the top actors in the business. Nicholson also turned down the coaching role in "Hoosiers" which went to Gene Hackman. Also rumored to have turned down the Travis Bickle role in "Taxi Driver" but there doesn't seem to be any proof of that one.