26 Beloved Movie Characters And Who ALMOST Played Them
Posted by movieblWhen it comes to our favorite movie characters we can’t imagine any other actors having portrayed them. Take for example, Indiana Jones. Can you imagine if Danny Devito had been given that role? Crap, me either. Here’s a list of 26 beloved main characters and the actors that almost played them. Why 26? Because I was shooting for 25 and went 1 over…sue me!
INDIANA JONES
WAS: Harrison Ford
ALMOST WAS: Tom Selleck (Not available due to conflicts with Magnum P.I.)
THE TERMINATOR
WAS: Arnold Schwarzenegger
ALMOST WAS: Lance Henriksen (The guy who played the android Bishop in Alien*)
HAN SOLO
WAS: Harrison Ford
ALMOST WAS: Burt Reynolds, Christopher Walken, Nick Nolte (All fine actors but…c’mon!)
MARTY McFLY (Back to the Future)
WAS: Michael J. Fox
ALMOST WAS: Eric Stoltz (His acting was too dramatic)
CAPTAIN BENJAMIN WILLARD (Apocalypse Now)
WAS: Martin Sheen
ALMOST WAS: Harvey Keitel
RIPLEY (Alien)
WAS: Sigourni Weaver
ALMOST WAS: Veronica Cartwright
PETER VENKMAN (Ghostbusters)
WAS: Bill Muarray
ALMOST WAS: John Belushi (I guess he could’ve played a ghost…)
BEETLEJUICE
WAS: Michael Keaton
ALMOST WAS: Sammy Davis, Jr. (No, I’m not kidding. I’d like to see this, actually)
MAVERICK (Top Gun)
WAS: Tom Cruise
ALMOST WAS: Matthew Modine
SPIDER-MAN
WAS: Tobey Maguire
ALMOST WAS: Leonardo DiCaprio
NEO (The Matrix)
WAS: Keanu Reeves
ALMOST WAS: Ewan McGregor, Leonardo DiCaprio
ROBOCOP
WAS: Peter Weller
ALMOST WAS: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Considered too big), Lance Henriksen (Bishop from Alien* again)
SUPERMAN
WAS: Christopher Reeve
ALMOST WAS: Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, James Caan, Warren Beatty, Burt Reynolds
FORREST GUMP
WAS: Tom Hanks
ALMOST WAS: Bill Murray, Chevy Chase (Chevy turned this role down…fantastic move, bud!)
BATMAN
WAS: Michael Keaton
ALMOST WAS: Alec Baldwin, Billy Murray, Pierce Brosnan, Charlie Sheen, Tom Selleck, Mel Gibson
McMURPHY (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
WAS: Jack Nicholson
ALMOST WAS: James Caan
ALEX (A Clockwork Orange)
WAS: Malcolm MacDowell
ALMOST WAS: Tim Curry, Jeremy Irons
FERRIS BUELLER
WAS: Matthew Broderick
ALMOST WAS: John Cusack, Jim Carrey, Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Michael J. Fox
CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW
WAS: Johnny Depp
ALMOST WAS: Michael Keaton, Jim Carrey, Christopher Walken
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS
WAS: Johnny Depp
ALMOST WAS: Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr.
JOHN McCLANE (Die Hard)
WAS: Bruce Willis
ALMOST WAS: Richard Gere
“DIRTY” HARRY CALLAHAN
WAS: Clint Eastwood
ALMOST WAS: Frank Sinatra (Are you feelin’ lucky, kiddo?)
DON VITO CORLEONE
WAS: Marlon Brando
ALMOST WAS: Frank Sinatra (Sinatra offered, but Coppola was adamant about casting Brando.)
ANDY DUFRENSE (The Shawshank Redemption)
WAS: Tim Robbins
ALMOST WAS: Kevin Costner (He later strongly regretted turning the role down…we don’t.)
CAPTAIN JOHN MILLER (Saving Private Ryan)
WAS: Tom Hanks
ALMOST WAS: Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson (Wouldn’t have been so bad, eh?)
RICK DECKARD (Blade Runner)
WAS: Harrison Ford
ALMOST WAS: Dustin Hoffman (Dressed as Tootsie, of course.)
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EDIT: An astute reader from FARK noticed that I had confused Alien and Aliens when crediting Lance Henriksen with the role of Bishop. He’s right, Bishop did not appear as a character until Aliens. Thanks Hawk24!
