10 years ago today Hollywood failed to make one of its biggest films

As a result, they took their 12th – TWELFTH place! – selection for the main role.

Released in theaters on October 4, 2013. Gravity went on to become the eighth biggest worldwide box office hit of that year, beating out films such as Man of Steel, The Wolf of Wall Street, Thor: The Dark World, World War Z and The Wolverine.

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This is quite a feat for a film by Alfonso Cuaron, the brilliant director whose previous work, the modern sci-fi masterpiece Children of Men, was a huge box office bomb.

Not only that, but Gravity was recognized by critics and award ceremonies as one of the best films of the year, as well as the entire decade. To date, very few films have succeeded in pushing audiences’ suspense so effectively and consistently.

In hindsight, it would obviously be a huge success, but in the lead-up to production, people behind the scenes were genuinely concerned that they would never be able to get it off the ground, let alone send it into outer space. And that’s because it seemed like literally every actor in Hollywood was turning down a leading role.

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Gravity couldn’t keep the actors in their orbit long enough.

For the lead role of Dr. Ryan Stone, Cuarón needed someone who could carry out the entire project practically on his own, as Tom Hanks did in Cast Away.

The first to contact us was Angelina Jolie, who had some free time in her schedule when she turned down a role in the sequel to the 2008 spy action film Wanted. However, the free time was quickly wiped out by In the Land of Blood and Honey (directed by Jolie) and the sequel to the popular 2010 spy thriller Salt (which, like Wanted, was never followed up).

Cuarón then offered the role to Marion Cotillard, who turned it down in favor of working on another sci-fi film: Inception. Blake Lively was third on the list, but the filming schedule for Gossip Girl and The Town didn’t allow for the right amount of time to film the film.

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Cuarón then received permission from the film’s producers to propose to an actress without even an audition: Natalie Portman, who amazed everyone with her performance in Black Swan. But Portman was forced to turn down the role when schedules for Thor and No Strings Attached got in the way.

According to Deadline, seven other actresses were considered for the role: Naomi Watts, Carey Mulligan, Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Abbie Cornish, Rebecca Hall and Olivia Wilde.

Then finally, on its 12th iteration, Warner Bros. offered the role to Sandra Bullock, who was subsequently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, ultimately losing out to Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen’s black comedy Blue Jasmine.

The supporting role of Lieutenant Matt Kowalski was a little easier to fill. Cuarón originally cast Robert Downey Jr. in the role, but ultimately left to direct a film called How to Talk to Girls, another project that never saw the light of day. Once Bullock landed the lead role, George Clooney was cast. And the rest is cinematic history.

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You can watch Gravity at home now on Prime Video.

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