Dwayne Johnson no longer regrets 'Jack Reacher' miss; other stars have felt the same about these iconic roles
Dwayne Johnson just revealed on a Facebook Q and A about the "one that got away". He was talking about the iconic role of 'Jack Reacher' that he felt primed to play. But the part ultimately went to Tom Cruise. But Johnson also confessed that he ultimately felt this was a good thing. He wrote: "Universe works in funny ways though, as when that door shut on me, another door opened with the opportunity to create a character from scratch that was of my DNA. The one and only badass, shit talkin’, gravity and reality-defying, always winkin’ and having fun OUTLAW LAWMAN KNOWN AS LUKE HOBBS. Let the good times roll."
Johnson's experience is echoed by stars who passed up iconic roles and now have no regrets about doing so. But for funsies, here are some 'what if' casting scenarios that almost came to pass.
A "Rose" by any other name
It is now impossible to think of anyone except Kate Winslet as Jack's Rose. 'Titanic' was also the film that kickstarted the life-long friendship between the then-unknown Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio. But it could have been Claire Danes aboard that blockbuster ship that sailed without her. She had just starred opposite DiCaprio in 'Romeo + Juliet' as the iconic star-crossed lovers and it was enough to convince her not to go for Round 2. Speaking on Dax Shepard's 'Armchair Expert' podcast, she revealed: "Honestly, I’d just made this romantic epic with Leo in Mexico City, which is where they were going to shoot Titanic, and I just didn’t have it I me... I think I may have sensed that I was courting that [level of fame] or I was proximate to that. I just couldn’t do it. I didn’t want it.”
She added that she had "zero regrets" about turning down the part. “I was really clear about it. I wasn’t conflicted. It was going to propel me to something I knew I didn’t have the resources to cope with. I knew I had to do a lot of foundation building.”
While Danes might not talk about it, there might have been another reason for her refusal to do the role. She reportedly found DiCaprio immature. She found his habit of playing pranks on the crew and cast annoying while DiCaprio thought she was too reserved. The pair would barely speak to each other when the cameras weren't rolling.
An offer Jack Nicholson could refuse
Jack Nicholson as Michael Corleone? Yup, that could have happened too if the actor didn't have such set ideas about pairing roles with the right ethnicity, especially in a film about the Italian mafia. He said in an interview that he did not see himself embodying the part because he was not Italian.
"Back then I believed that Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians. Mario Puzo had written such a great book that if you go back to it you'll see so much of what was special about the movie. There were a lot of actors who could have played Michael, myself included, but Al Pacino 'was' Michael Corleone. I can't think of a better compliment to pay him."
Other actors to be considered for the part were Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, and Martin Sheen. But Francis Ford Coppola was very sure about Pacino, who was an unknown actor at the time. Pacino later revealed that he hadn't wanted the part either and thought Coppola "a bit mad" for offering it to him.
Sex and 'The Notebook'
Just like Jack and Rose, another iconic movie couple are Noah and Allie of 'The Notebook'. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams played the parts in the film that has since become a cult-hit. Jessica Simpson has revealed that she was almost Allie. "I knew exactly what the movie was about because I had read the script,” Simpson wrote in her memoir 'Open Book'. But she decided to give the movie a hard pass “because they wouldn’t budge on taking out the sex scene," which, she added, "would have been with Ryan Gosling, of all people.” Simpson had a huge crush on Gosling when they were both co-starring on 'The Mickey Mouse Club' back in the 1990s, which is ironic considering that Gosling started dating McAdams after the movie was released.
Bale-ing on Bond
The 'American Psycho' actor Christian Bale was reportedly contacted for starring as the iconic James Bond after Pierce Brosnan retired from the role. According to Bale's biography, 'The Inside Story of the Darkest Batman,' Bale wasn’t interested in “being committed to a franchise that was very British". The book highlights how the meeting with film's producers was cordial even though Bale thought that James Bond "represented every despicable stereotype about England and British actors". He also quipped: "I've already played a serial killer." Daniel Craig went on to play the "serial killer" for Queen and Country that defined his career and made him a very rich man.
‘Pretty Woman’ as a Tragedy
Diane Lane has spoken about why she did not feel bad about being passed over for Julia Roberts for 'Pretty Woman'. She told Andy Cohen that when she auditioned, 'Pretty Woman' was quite a dark tale. "It turned out to be a feel-good movie," she explained. "Originally, this crazy b**ch was kicked out of a rolling limo at the end because she was delusional that she thought this guy was really in love with her. She was only hired for the weekend, and we had such compassion for her." Lane admitted that she preferred this non-happy ending to the rom-com classic it eventually turned out to be. "I think that movie needs to get made," she insisted. "I wanna direct it. Let's make it happen."