James Cameron offered Damon the lead in Avatar along with a slice of the profits that could have run into hundreds of millions of dollars. Damon passed, and Sam Worthington took the role in what became one of the highest-grossing films ever made. He's since called it possibly the dumbest decision an actor has ever made, which, given the numbers, is tough to dispute. | © PowerfulJRE / YouTube
Tapped to star in Groundhog Day, Keaton passed, admitting he simply didn't get it at the time. He's been the first to say it worked out, conceding that no one could have played the loop-trapped weatherman better than Bill Murray. The film became a comedy classic and a permanent part of the language. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Originally set to play Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, Blanchett stepped away before filming. She's framed it gracefully, saying these things happen at the right time and the movie became what it needed to be. Nicole Kidman took over and landed an Oscar nomination as the comedy legend. | © Netflix
Offered the role that turned Sandra Bullock into a star, Berry passed on the runaway-bus thriller Speed. In her defense, she's joked that the version of the script she read didn't even get the bus out of the parking lot. Bullock took the wheel and never looked back. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Offered the role of Maverick in Top Gun before it made Tom Cruise a megastar, Modine said no on principle. He's explained that he didn't want to endorse militarism, and he stands by the decision without regret. Cruise took the part, rode it for decades, and brought it roaring back in Top Gun: Maverick. | © Netflix
Right after wrapping Married... with Children, Applegate was offered the lead in Legally Blonde and turned it down, scared of being typecast as yet another blonde. She's since called it a stupid move, and it's hard to argue. Reese Witherspoon took Elle Woods and turned her into an icon. | © Netflix
Lined up to star in La La Land before bowing out, Watson has explained she'd already committed to Beauty and the Beast. Months of dance, song, and horse training left no room to parachute into another musical on top of it. Emma Stone took the part and won the Best Actress Oscar for it. | © Jay Shetty Podcast / YouTube
First attached to play Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout, McKinnon ended up leaving the project. She'd been cast as Carole Baskin in the rival Tiger King series Joe vs. Carole and couldn't do both. Amanda Seyfried inherited the Holmes role and won an Emmy for it. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Fresh off her Oscar-winning turn as Effie in Dreamgirls, Hudson was offered the lead in Precious but chose to pass. She's written that she wanted a role with nothing to do with her weight, having just explored similar ground. Gabourey Sidibe stepped in and earned a Best Actress nomination for the wrenching drama. | © Paramount Pictures
A role in The Matrix once came her way, and Madonna turned it down, a call she's admitted a tiny part of her still regrets. Telling Jimmy Fallon it's one of the best movies ever made, she conceded the pass stung in hindsight. The sci-fi landmark went on to redefine action filmmaking without her. | © Apple Music / YouTube
By her own account, Simpson was cast in The Notebook but balked at a sex scene with Ryan Gosling, and when she asked to cut it, the studio wouldn't budge. She's written that her crumbling marriage to Nick Lachey played a part too, since the world's most romantic movie felt like salt in the wound at the time. Rachel McAdams took the role, and the film became a defining romance of its era. | © Sony Pictures Entertainment
The Daniels wanted Chan so badly for their genre-bending multiverse movie that they flew to China to pitch him, but the action legend turned them down. They rewrote the lead as a woman for Michelle Yeoh, who went on to win Best Actress for Everything Everywhere All at Once. Yeoh loves telling how Chan later texted her about the buzz, to which she cheerfully replied that it was his loss. | © A24
Margot Robbie has said Gadot was approached for a part in her Barbie, calling her the embodiment of Barbie energy for being impossibly beautiful and disarmingly dorky-sweet at the same time. Scheduling conflicts kept the Wonder Woman star from signing on. It's one of those near-misses that's easy to imagine, even if it never came together. | © Walt Disney Pictures
Hard as it is to picture, Pacino was the first choice to play Han Solo, fresh off The Godfather and getting offered nearly everything in town. He passed, admitting he simply didn't understand the Star Wars script in front of him. The part went to Harrison Ford, who turned a wisecracking smuggler into one of cinema's most beloved rogues. | © 20th Century Studios
Years before Margot Robbie made Barbie a billion-dollar phenomenon, Schumer was attached to play the doll herself around 2016. She walked away over creative differences, later saying the studio wanted a version of Barbie she had zero interest in making. Her instinct was that a one-note "every woman wants this" take was the wrong gal for the job, so she stepped aside long before Greta Gerwig reinvented the whole idea. | © Paramount Pictures
For every iconic performance, there's an actor who could have had the part and said no. Whether it was bad timing, cold feet, or a principle they wouldn't bend on, these stars waved off roles that went on to make someone else a legend. Here are 15 actors who turned down roles that changed Hollywood.
