Dwayne Johnson and other stars who declined roles in blockbusters

Dwayne Johnson is not the only member of this club. Some actors were marked for playing successful roles. But what would it be like if some characters had other actors as protagonists?
Imagine Matrix with Will Smith instead of Keanu Reeves. Robert Downey Jr. replaced by Tom Cruise in Iron Man.
Could you imagine any actor refusing successful box office roles?
We have prepared a list of several famous actors who declined roles that would become Blockbuster.

Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)

(Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)

Dwayne Johnson posted on his Instagram profile and image of Gene Wilder in the first adaptation of ‘Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)’. The Rock took the opportunity to tell the story of when he was approached by director Tim Burton to play the main role in the 2005 remake. Imagine Dwayne Johnson as Willy Wonka.

Will Smith

(The Matrix and Django Unchained)

In 1999, Will Smith rejected playing Neo in ‘The Matrix‘. At that time he decided to do ‘Wild Wild West’, and the role ended up being for Keanu Reeves. Smith also refused to be the protagonist in Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Django Unchained’ (2012) because he thought the film was too violent.

Tom Cruise

(Iron Man)

No doubt Tom Cruise would fit perfectly in the role of the charming and sarcastic billionaire Tony Stark. Cruise was the first option to star in the movie ‘Iron Man‘ (2008). But when everything was ready, Tom didn’t like the script they had and chose to leave.

Brad Pitt

(Jason Bourne)

Brad Pitt was the initial choice to play spy Jason Bourne. But he ended up refusing the role to participate in the movie ‘Spy Game’. The films of the Bourne franchise have become box office and critical hits. Matt Damon knew how to take advantage of the opportunity he was given.

Matt Damon

(Avatar and Daredevil)

Although Damon played agent Jason Bourne, he declined two highly successful roles. Matt rejected the role of Jake Sully, the main protagonist in Avatar, due to professional commitments. Matt Damon also ended up refusing the proposal to play another big hit. The hero Matt Murdock in ‘Daredevil’ (2003), leaving the role for free to Ben Affleck.

Sean Connery

(The Lord of the Rings)

Sean Connery declined to play the wizard Gandalf in ‘The Lord of the Rings‘ (2001) because he didn’t understand the script very well. The studio ended up hiring Ian McKellen. While Connery has never before revealed that he was offered the role as Gandalf, he has now admitted: “I read the book. I read the script. Saw the movie. I still don’t understand it. Ian McKellen, I believe, is marvelous in it. ”

John Travolta

(Forrest Gump)

The role of Forrest Gump was initially offered to John Travolta. But the actor declined the invitation to record director Quentin Tarantino’s classic Pulp Fiction. Travolta has already admitted that he regrets the decision. Thus, Tom Hanks was chosen to live the storyteller.

Lindsay Lohan

(The Hangover)

Lindsay Lohan has had many problems in her life. But problems with justice and alcohol and drug abuse were not the only ones that marked his career. Lindsay had the opportunity to participate in ‘The Hangover’ (2009) as Jade a stripper and single mother in the film.

Lohan read the script and said she didn’t think the movie would go anywhere, it would be a failure. It was a terrible move on her part, as ‘The Hangover’ raised $277 million at the box office.

Christian Bale

(Justice League)

Christian Bale did not want to play Bruce Wayne (Batman) in Justice League (2017), a role assumed by Ben Affleck.

This happened because the actor had an agreement with the director of the Batman trilogy, Christopher Nolan, to make only the three films. Even if the studio wanted to continue with future filming. In the end, Bale stated that he should have known better before turning down the role.

Jack Nicholson

(The Godfather)

Jack Nicholson was the first option to play Michael Corleone in The Godfather (1972). He was even willing to accept the proposal at the beginning. Ended up rejecting it because he thought it would be better if the role was played by an Italian.

He believed that he could not give credibility to the character. But it was the American Al Pacino who immortalized Mike Corleone.

Anne Hathaway

(Silver Linings Playbook)

If Anne Hathaway had accepted the role in ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ (2012), she would have won the most famous Hollywood statuette. Jennifer Lawrence replaced Hathaway in the role of quirky, troubled widow Tiffany. Lawrence won the Best Actress award for her performance at Oscars 2013.

Nicolas Cage

(The Lord of the Rings)

In an interview with Newsweek in 2015, Nicolas Cage talked about choosing to live life without regrets. He happily said something he definitely does not regret: refusing the role of Aragorn in “Lord of the Rings”. “There were different things going on in my life at the time that precluded me from being able to travel and be away from home for three years,” he said.