Conventional wisdom says that actors, especially those new to the business, should accept most of the roles they are offered. There are obviously benefits to it: theoretically, it guarantees them work and puts their name out there so they can get more substantial roles. But it’s also a precarious time for building a reputation, so one wrong step can be catastrophic. So balance is necessary: just ask Taylor Kitsch, who took on John Carter as his big opportunity and took a major hit when the movie didn’t turn out as expected.
Once an actor reaches a certain stature, being less discerning about roles makes even less sense. Because bad choices can be just as damaging to upcomers. Reputations can be destroyed on a single misstep. Luckily, actors at all stages of their careers sometimes have a gut feeling that a particular project is a bad fit. And over the years, there have been several high-profile cases where rejecting a role has protected an actor’s career from a near-certain disaster.
7) Jordan Peele Turned Down The Poop Emoji In The Emoji Movie
Most actors probably thought twice before voicing the role of the Poop Emoji. Although the idea might have struck some actors as amusing, it could also send the wrong message about an actor’s career.
Jordan Peele himself confirmed to Vanity Fair that he decided to stop acting and move into directing and writing after he turned down this role. Had he chosen to play it, he likely would have been known forever as the Poop Emoji instead of making horror movies that speak directly to the lived experiences of Black people, like Get Out.
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6) Drew Barrymore Turned Down The Lead in Showgirls
Drew Barrymore is no stranger to controversy. Her struggles with substance abuse threatened her career as early as her teen years (by her own admission), and she had to work hard to rehabilitate her image and return to starring roles. However, that didn’t mean that she thought taking every role offered her was a good idea.
Barrymore’s decision to turn down the lead role in Showgirls after she was sent the script (per THR) protected her from further controversy that could have derailed her career. This film received an NC-17 rating and is mainly remembered today for its wild tone and liberal nudity. Quite how Barrymore’s reputation would have fared in light of that is up for debate.
5) Christian Bale Turned Down a Role in Noah
Some Bible stories become popular movies: for instance, Charlton Heston’s The Ten Commandments is considered a classic and is rerun on TV every year during the Passover/Easter season. Darren Aronofsky’s Noah was an epic depiction of the Biblical story of Noah and the flood, and is more remembered for its controversies than for its success.
The content didn’t bother anyone, but by the time it was made, audiences had begun to protest against Biblical movies that used mainly white acting talent to depict a time and place where most people were not white. Christian Bale was offered the lead role that Russell Crowe eventually took on, but passed, and in doing so avoided being associated with those accusations, which might have derailed his career, and also avoided the wrath of religious groups who disliked the film’s content.
4) Jim Carrey Decided Not To Return for Evan Almighty
Bruce Almighty, in which a TV reporter is given God’s powers for a week after complaining that he doesn’t think the Judeo-Christian deity is doing a good job, was a critical and box office success. Thus, the idea of making a sequel seemed like a no-brainer at the time, but Jim Carrey walked away from the idea.
Carrey has done this several times because he doesn’t like to play the same role more than once. In this case, the decision likely saved him from a fairly big career wrinkle. The mixed-up sequel elevated Steve Carell’s rival news anchor Evan to the lead after a move into politics led to his own religious experience. Inferior to the original, Evan Almighty flopped, and Carrey dodged a bullet.
3) Margot Robbie Turned Down Major Motoko Kusanagi in Ghost in the Shell
Margot Robbie was initially supposed to star in the anime classic Ghost in the Shell, and her association with the role advanced far enough that concept art was created with her. The 1995 science fiction film was about a team of cyborg operatives who hunt down the mysterious “Puppet Master”, a hacker who was wreaking havoc and breaking a ton of cybercrime laws. On paper, it should have been a success.
And though the role of Major Motoko Kusanagi that Scarlett Johansson eventually took on may have seemed like a meaty role, Robbie’s decision to turn it down proved very smart. The film was controversial because it starred a white actress rather than hiring Japanese talent to play the Major and other main characters. In the end, Ghost in the Shell scored a disappointing 43% on Rotten Tomatoes, and lost money thanks to poor box office performance.
2) Zendaya Turned Down the Lead in Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B
Biopics can often make an actor’s career, so it was surprising that Zendaya turned down the lead role in Lifetime’s Aaliyah. However, it would have been a mistake to insist on making this film as Aaliyah’s family was opposed to the movie being made, and Zendaya backed out in order to respect their wishes.
Zendaya had an additional reason for turning the role down: she is lighter-skinned than the Aaliyah, and the casting decision could have led to accusations of colorism had Zendaya moved ahead with the project.
1) Mike Faist Decided Not To Participate In The Movie Version of Dear Evan Hansen
Mike Faist had originated the role of Connor Murphy in the off-Broadway stageplay, so he was the natural choice to play the character in the movie version of Dear Evan Hansen. However, he was not interested in the project and turned it down.
The actor’s decision was proven correct very quickly. The movie was a box office failure, and lead and Faist’s former co-star Ben Platt received a lot of negative comments about being too old to convincingly play a high school student. The criticism boiled over into outright mockery, and while Platt was probably established enough already to recover, it’s hard to say if Faist would have, given his relative newness to screen acting.
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