Daniel Craig is known for his role as James Bond, which started when he starred in Casino Royale in 2006. However, there was another actor whose career could be very different indeed had they take on that role themselves. Here are some top picks of actors who turned down roles in iconic movies, with posters exclusively shared by Social Films.
Casino Royale starring Hugh Jackman
According to Social Films, The Greatest Showman star Hugh Jackman had a big call to make prior to working on the now completely forgotten X-Men 2 follow-up: could someone be both Wolverine and James Bond?
Jackman obviously decided against it, and 13 years later he had probably made the right decision as he has pursued a huge number of other projects which have made him the actor-singer he is today.
Having turned down the role, he has been able to make movies like Les Miserables, for which he was Oscar-nominated; Australia; The Greatest Showman and the X-Men film series.
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The Matrix starring Will Smith
Everyone knows Neo could only be Keanu Reeves, but that was not always going to be the case.
Instead, Will Smith was meant to be taking on the role, with Val Kilmer taking on the Laurence Fisburne role as Morpheus.
Addressing the topic, Smith has never appeared too downbeat and even suggested everyone should be grateful for his mistake, saying: “I probably would have messed The Matrix up.
“I would have ruined it. I did y’all a favour!”
Others may be away his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, turned down the role of Trinity, meaning it could have been a very Smith affair.
Titanic starring Matthew McConaughey and Gwyneth Paltrow
Titanic is one of the most iconic movies of all time, with it marking the beginning of the incredible friendship between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.
However, it could have been a very different affair, had the ripped Texan actor Matthew McConaughey taken on the role opposite Gwyneth Paltrow.
These two should not feel too upset, however, given all four actors received their dream of winning an Oscar for their acting work, meaning their subsequent roles clearly took them where they needed to go.
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The Godfather starring Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson is a renowned actor, and likely could have made a real go of Michael Corleone, played by Al Pacino.
While he was offered the role, he very magnanimously said: “There were a lot of actors who could have played Michael, myself included, but Al Pacino was Michael Corleone.”
This was absolutely the case, and Pacino proved himself as a gangster actor like no other, earning him roles in other major movies like Scarface.
Star Wars starring Al Pacino
This is one thing many will struggle to imagine, but Han Solo could have been very different.
Pacino was offered this role three years after The Godfather Part II, but instead opted out, meaning the man who took on the part was Harrison Ford, who arguably is irreplaceable.
The galaxy far, far away could have seen Pacino showing Darth Vader his little friend – which is not a world many of us want to live in.