Can you believe Clint Eastwood turned down the role of Superman?!
The 93-year-old Hollywood actor was given the opportunity to play the Man of Steel in the 1978 blockbuster, with Christopher Reeve eventually donning the red cape and blue tights.
Of his snub, Clint said: “I was like, ‘Superman?’ No, no, this is not for me.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. This is for someone, but not for me.”
But Eastwood is far from the only actor to turn down the opportunity of a lifetime…
“No, no, this is not for me…”
Updated
Can you believe Clint Eastwood turned down the role of Superman?! The 93-year-old Hollywood actor was given the opportunity to play the Man of Steel in the 1978 blockbuster, with Christopher Reeve eventually donning the red cape and blue tights. Of his snub, Clint said: “I was like, ‘Superman?’ No, no, this is not for me.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that. This is for someone, but not for me.” But Eastwood is far from the only actor to turn down the opportunity of a lifetime…
Will Smith
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The 55-year-old actor wasn’t “proud” of making Wild Wild West instead of accepting a role in The Matrix, but feels he did film fans a “favour”. He said: “Keanu was perfect, Laurence Fishburne was perfect, so I would probably ruin The Matrix.” I would have ruined everything, so I was doing you all a favor.
Leonard DiCaprio
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DiCaprio regrets missing out on the opportunity to play Dirk Diggler – the role that brought Mark Wahlberg great acclaim – in Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 film. He told GQ: “Boogie Nights is a movie I loved and would love to make.”
Madonna
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The 65-year-old pop icon turned down the opportunity to play Trinity in 1999’s The Matrix and subsequent sequels, with the role ultimately going to Carrie Anne Moss. Speaking to Jimmy Fallon in 2021, Madonna said: “Can you believe it? This is one of the best movies ever made.” A tiny part of me regrets this one moment in my life.”
Michelle Pfeiffer
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The 65-year-old actress played FBI agent Clarice Starling in the 1991 horror film The Silence of the Lambs “with trepidation” because she felt the film’s message was “evil”. Director Jonathan Demme, who directed her in Married to the Mob, asked Pfeiffer to play Clarice opposite Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter, but she said no, thanks. Jodie won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, and the film won five Academy Awards, winning prizes in every major category, including Best Picture. Speaking to The New Yorker in 2021, Michelle said, “There was such evil in that movie. It was that evil won in the end, that at the end of this movie evil was eliminated. I hated this ending. I didn’t want to show it off.”
Matt Damon
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Damon admitted it was “cruel” to miss out on the chance to work with James Cameron on the 2007 sci-fi film Avatar and receive a promised 10 percent of the profits from the highest-grossing film of all time. He told GQ in 2019: “He works so rarely… By saying no, I realized I was probably missing out on the chance to ever work with him. I know it sucks and it’s still cruel. But my children eat everything. I’m fine”.
Michael Keaton
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The 72-year-old actor simply “didn’t understand” the script when he read Groundhog Day. While Keaton could have played cynical TV weatherman Phil Connors, who gets caught in a time loop while reporting on the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, he doesn’t think he could have done better than Bill Murray in the 1993 comedy. . He told Entertainment Weekly: “This guy is just like the wry, sardonic, spirited young man I played – and it ended up being so great. But you can’t do it better than Bill Murray did it.”
Josh Harnett
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The 45-year-old actor revealed that Christopher Nolan approached him to play Bruce Wayne and his superhero alter ego Batman in his 2005 DC Comics film Batman Begins. The role ultimately went to 49-year-old Christian Bale, and he earned plaudits and millions for playing the Dark Knight in Nolan’s acclaimed trilogy. Josh told Playboy magazine in 2015: “I was so focused on not being pigeonholed and so afraid that I would be seen as just one thing as an actor.”
Halle Berry
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The 57-year-old actress “foolishly” turned down the role of Annie in the 1994 action film Speed, which also starred Keanu Reeves. Recalling her mistake, Holly said: “I was offered Speed before Sandra Bullock. I stupidly said no. But in my defense, when I read the script, the bus didn’t leave the parking lot.”
Bruce Willis
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The 68-year-old star was sent the script for Phantom and asked to play the role of Sam Wheat alongside his wife Demi Moore as Molly Jensen in the supernatural romantic drama. Bruce simply “didn’t get” the story where Sam was killed and then stayed on Earth to prevent the love of his life from suffering the same fate, but admitted he was a “jerk” by saying no. In 1996, he told the New York Times: “I said, ‘Hey, this guy is dead. How are you going to start an affair? Famous last words.”
Christina Applegate
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The former Married… With Children star chose not to accept the role of Elle Woods in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde, even calling it a “stupid move.” Sharing her regret at not taking on the iconic role, Christina said: “I was afraid of repeating myself. What a stupid thing that was, right? (But) Reese deserved it. She did much better than I ever could, and so this is her life, this is her path.”
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