Top 10 Hardest Roles to Cast in Movies
The casting directors had their work cut out for them. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the iconic movie roles that were nearly impossible to fill.
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00:00Just mulling over business problems, examining opportunities, exchanging rumors, spreading gossip.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the iconic movie roles that were nearly impossible to fill.
00:13YOU SHALL NOT PASS!
00:21Number 10, Christian Grey, Fifty Shades of Grey.
00:25Casting the two leads in the controversial erotic romance probably proved tricky for a couple of reasons.
00:30One, the subject matter made it a big red flag.
00:35Say something, please.
00:37Two, the novels themselves were largely seen as salacious and lacking in any real human interest.
00:42Many actresses were considered for the role of Anastasia Steele before Dakota Johnson said yes.
00:47Can I just say how impressed I am with your commitment to this meeting?
00:51But her counterpart proved elusive.
00:53Ryan Gosling, Garrett Hedlund, and Stephen Amell passed on the part of Christian Grey
00:57for reasons that ranged from, quote, the character isn't interesting, to, I don't want to.
01:02Charlie Hunnam was attached to co-star with Johnson before dropping out, and Jamie Dornan eventually filled the role.
01:08Um, do you have any interests outside of work?
01:11I enjoy various physical pursuits.
01:14Number 9, Vivian Ward, Pretty Woman.
01:17The role that made Julia Roberts a star was much different than the one several of Hollywood's biggest actresses turned down.
01:23Pretty Woman's original script was much darker and grittier than what made it to theaters.
01:28You don't sleep, you don't do drugs, you don't drink, you hardly eat.
01:32What do you do, Edward?
01:34Because I know you're not a lawyer.
01:36In fact, it was supposed to be a hard-hitting look at Vivian Ward's experiences as a sex worker on the streets of Los Angeles.
01:42Casting the role that went to Richard Gere was difficult enough.
01:46Hey, sugar, you looking for a date?
01:49No, I want to find Beverly Hills. Can you give me directions?
01:53Sure.
01:54But several actresses emphatically refused the part Roberts ended up taking.
01:58Michelle Pfeiffer, Molly Ringwald, and Daryl Hannah were among the names in the mix.
02:02They reportedly essentially cited the misogynistic and exploitative tone of the early story.
02:07But never in all the time that I had this dream, did the night say to me,
02:14Come on, baby, I'll put you up in a great condo.
02:17Number 8, Patrick Bateman, American Psycho.
02:20This 80s horror satire requires a delicate balance,
02:23as it volleys between scenes of excessive violence and illicit hedonism,
02:27and sleek offices and sterile apartments.
02:30Because it's not just about the pleasures of conformity and the importance of trend,
02:33it's also a personal statement about the band itself.
02:37Hey, Paul!
02:39But it's the violence that turned many off from the role of sociopathic finance bro-wannabe Patrick Bateman.
02:46Billy Crudup left the role after much preparation, as did Leonardo DiCaprio.
02:51The character's horrifically violent nature certainly seemed to play a part in these decisions.
02:55American Psycho basically became a revolving door of actors and directors.
03:00There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman.
03:03Some kind of abstraction.
03:05But there is no real me.
03:08Only an entity.
03:09Ultimately, director Mary Harron said she would not do the movie without Christian Bale.
03:14Though it wasn't that simple, she was let go before later being rehired.
03:17Things eventually worked out.
03:20What about the past? Our past?
03:23We never really shared one.
03:25You're inhuman.
03:26No, I'm in touch with humanity.
03:33There's a world in which Peter Jackson's first The Lord of the Rings movie
03:36flops so hard at the box office it wipes out several careers.
03:40I can avoid being seen if I wish, but to disappear entirely, that is a rare gift.
03:46High budgets and extensive shooting schedules meant that every decision was a potential disaster.
03:51That's why the troubles Jackson had with finding the right actor for Aragorn were so high stakes.
03:56By my life or death, I can protect you.
04:00I will.
04:02Nicolas Cage, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Russell Crowe all turned down the role for various reasons.
04:07It was one of the few parts still being cast amidst filming,
04:10as the director replaced Stuart Townsend, realizing he didn't have the maturity required.
04:15With no disrespect to any of the other actors here,
04:18it's hard to imagine anyone but Viggo Mortensen as Aragorn.
04:21I do not know what strength is in my blood,
04:24but I swear to you I will not let the White City fall.
04:31Annie Wilkes has gone down in history as one of cinema's most dastardly and unhinged villains.
04:36My name is Annie Wilkes.
04:38I'm one fan.
04:40However, it's her victim Paul Sheldon, the writer she holds captive after he gets into a car accident,
04:45who was hardest to cast.
04:47The list of actors who were offered the role is astounding,
04:50and each one would have made it a completely different movie.
04:53I do have a very hard and fast rule as to who leaves my stuff at this early stage.
04:57Only my editor, my agent, and anybody that saves me from freezing to death in a car wreck.
05:03In the end, a laundry list of people said no,
05:05including William Hurt, Richard Dreyfuss, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, and Al Pacino.
05:11We don't know each of their reasons for sure,
05:13but we can't imagine the characters' more demure, unassertive nature helped.
05:17Thankfully, the movie's eventual star, James Caan,
05:20recognized what a challenge the part would be for an actor.
05:23Did I do good?
05:26You did perfect.
05:30Except for one thing.
05:33This time we'll need two glasses.
05:40Unfortunately to many in Hollywood,
05:42director Ang Lee's tragic western romance between two cowboys was a punchline at best,
05:47and a career ender at worst.
05:49I wish I knew how to quit you.
05:51Even in 2005, queer representation in film was a huge gamble.
05:56The original director, Gus Van Sant, had a terrible time finding his leads.
06:01Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt notably turned him down,
06:04and the search derailed his enthusiasm for the project.
06:07What are we supposed to do now, huh?
06:09Get on in there and untangle them Chilean sheep at ours, I guess.
06:14Ang Lee didn't have much better luck at first.
06:16Mark Wahlberg was considered,
06:18but its subject matter apparently didn't align with his Catholic beliefs.
06:22Before securing the talents of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal,
06:25Lee said many other actors were reluctant to play queer parts.
06:29I got your wife and baby in Texas,
06:31and, you know, I got my life in Riverdon.
06:38Ryan Gosling was basically an easy lock for the role of Noah Calhoun.
06:41I wrote you every day for a year.
06:44You wrote me?
06:45Yes.
06:48It wasn't over.
06:51It still isn't over.
06:54Casting his romantic counterpart proved to be a unique challenge.
06:58Before Rachel McAdams came in and blew away the team behind The Notebook,
07:02finding Ally was basically like throwing darts at the wall and seeing who it landed on.
07:06Everyone in the right age range seemed to have been looked at.
07:09You're different.
07:11What do you mean?
07:14Just the way you look.
07:16Some of the era's heaviest hitters, including Ashley Judd,
07:19Jennifer Love Hewitt and Reese Witherspoon,
07:21were in the running before McAdams was cast.
07:23Interestingly, Britney Spears was a runner-up for the part.
07:27Her impressive audition ended up online sometime afterward.
07:30But don't you take the easy way out.
07:32What easy way?
07:33There is no easy way.
07:34No matter what I do, somebody gets hurt.
07:36Would you stop thinking about what everyone wants?
07:42The adaptation of the epic, best-selling novel was like catnip
07:45for practically every actress in Hollywood,
07:47and even for aspiring ones across America.
07:50It's ironic, then, that the role of Southern Belle's Scarlett O'Hara
07:53went to English star Vivian Leigh.
07:56The road to casting her was long and thorny.
07:58Don't cry, darling.
08:00They'll all be over in a few weeks, and I'll be coming back to you.
08:04Producer David O. Selznick put out a nationwide call for the part.
08:08This was largely studio hype,
08:10but the actual process of finding the right performer wasn't any easier.
08:13You're a conceited, black-hearted, vomit-red-button.
08:16I don't know why I let you come and see me.
08:19It seems like everyone from the biggest stars
08:21to the most hopeful bit players were looked at to play Scarlett.
08:24After much searching,
08:26quote-unquote Dark Horse Vivian Leigh emerged as the victor.
08:29You can come to my hanging, and I'll remember you in my will.
08:31I'll come to your hanging.
08:33The only thing I'm afraid of is they won't hang you in town
08:35to pay the taxes on tariffs.
08:40Since his introduction in the novel series by Ian Fleming,
08:43Agent 007 has been the model
08:45of the quintessential secret agent and Englishman.
08:49Bond. James Bond.
08:53Seeing as he's been cast numerous different times over the franchise's history,
08:56producers have had time to decode the alchemy behind the process.
09:00Bond's actor has to have the right mix of looks, charm, and mystery.
09:04It's a big ask.
09:06Just look at the long line of incredible actors
09:08who have been considered for the role.
09:10It could easily be that any one of you here
09:12is related to a royal house.
09:14Henry Cavill, Mel Gibson, Sam Neill, Sean Bean, and more
09:18have all been turned down to fill the agent's impeccably tailored suits.
09:22And producer choices like Richard Burton,
09:24Cary Grant, Liam Neeson, and Christian Bale
09:26have declined the part for various reasons.
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09:59Before it became an unexpected awards season contender,
10:02this adaptation of a Thomas Harris thriller
10:04was met with skepticism and derision by many Hollywood heavyweights.
10:07Casting FBI agent Clarice Starling put the filmmakers in a tough spot.
10:12Dr. Lecter, my name is Clarice Starling. May I speak with you?
10:15You're one of Jack Croft's, aren't you?
10:18Indeed, director Jonathan Demme had his eye on stars Meg Ryan and Michelle Pfeiffer,
10:22but both refused the role flat out.
10:25Yet Hannibal Lecter was perhaps even harder to cast.
10:28Before Anthony Hopkins took the part,
10:30it seems like virtually every leading man in the industry was considered.
10:33I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
10:41Thankfully, in the end, Hopkins and Jodie Foster did some career best work,
10:45winning Oscars for their performances.
10:47So you take care now to extend me the same courtesy.
10:50You know I can't make that promise.
10:53I do wish we could chat longer, but I'm having an old friend for dinner.
11:00Which of these roles is hardest to imagine being played by anyone else?
11:03Let us know in the comments.
11:05Fred, if you go, where shall I go? What shall I do?
11:10Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn.
11:13Do you agree with our picks?
11:15Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
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