Acting can be a chaotic career choice, especially when it comes to getting chosen for a particular role. The competition is fierce, and it can often be a toss-up over who gets what role. And even when an actor lands a role, it’s not always a guarantee that recasts won’t happen. It’s a volatile business, and anything can really happen, especially the stuff you least expect.
Of course, we as viewers don’t really see this happen. We just hear about it on the news and then eventually watch the finished product, no matter who’s in it. But imagine some of the most notable roles you can think of, and then think about what it would be like if someone else had played them instead. It happens in Hollywood much more often than you would think.
Marty McFly in Back to the Future
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Arguably one of the most famous recastings of all time. While Michael J. Fox was the first choice for Back to the Future, director Robert Zemeckis settled on Eric Stolz after Fox declined the role due to his commitments to Family Ties. Stolz even filmed six weeks’ worth of material for the film, but it was not to be. Zemeckis and others involved in Back to the Future eventually fired Stolz in favor of bringing in Fox, and the rest was, well, history.
While it’s difficult now to imagine a world where Fox isn’t Marty McFly, it nearly did happen. All it would have taken was the right performance from Stolz, or Fox continuing to be unavailable. Would Back to the Future have been as successful? Would we have gotten the other two films in the trilogy? It’s hard to say, but it’s also fun to imagine. Either way, Back to the Future remains one of the most iconic time travel films, even if it’s not particularly interested in getting the science right.
Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings
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This one is very hard for even me to imagine. Aragorn is easily one of my favorite fictional characters, and while I love the books, it’s really Viggo Mortensen’s performance that brought the character to life for me and millions of others. However, that was almost not the case. Originally, Stuart Townsend was cast in the role. But director Peter Jackson quickly replaced him in the role, though the reasons remain murky. Jackson has claimed that the actor was too young, though some in the cast and crew said Townsend wasn’t very committed to the role’s physical demands. Either way, Mortensen was brought in.
Funnily enough, Mortensen also almost turned the role down because of how sudden it was and how little he knew about the source material, but his young son at the time convinced him to do it, as he was a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. Every little thing had to go right to bring to screen one of the most iconic protagonists of all time, and thank the Maia it did. Mortensen not only embraced the physicality of the role, but he also learned Elvish, read the books, and did a lot of his own stunts.
Neo in The Matrix
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This is actually one of those roles that had a really hard time nailing down an actor, but the list of stars who turned it down for one reason or another remains staggering. One of the biggest names at the time to turn down the film was none other than Will Smith, who instead opted to make Wild Wild West, which was certainly a choice. But other names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Nicolas Cage, and even Sandra Bullock were considered.
Personally, I think all of these actors could have done an admirable job as Neo, but I’m still thankful it went to Keanu Reeves instead. Reeves brought a sense of naivety and persistent confusion to the role that I think the others on this list would have struggled with. Still, can you imagine Smith fighting a bunch of Agent Smith clones in The Matrix Reloaded? That would have been a sight to behold.
Wolverine in X-Men
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I mean, this has to be close to the most iconic role on this list, and it very nearly did not go to Hugh Jackman. In fact, Dougray Scott was actually cast in the role and was all set to film it. But he was working on Mission: Impossible II at the time, and that film went way over schedule, so Scott was forced to back out. Can you imagine a whole series of X-Men movies with Scott in the role? Or Deadpool & Wolverine without Jackman and Ryan Reynolds’ natural chemistry? It’s almost too bizarre to think about.
Still, that’s not to say that Scott isn’t a capable actor, because he absolutely is. I think, in a world where we never really knew what Jackman could bring to the role, Scott would have done a very good job as Wolverine. But I’m also very thankful that it worked out the way it did, because Jackman is truly legendary and arguably helped X-Men become even more popular than it probably should have been. Not to mention, he gave us one of the best superhero movies of all time in Logan, which makes stuff like The Toxic Avenger look tame.
Casting the right actor is an art form in itself
Many of these casting changes are thanks to directors or others involved in the creative process realizing that one actor just doesn’t fit the vision for the film. Others are actors realizing that the role isn’t actually built for them. In either case, I think it’s clear that finding the right actor for the right role is a delicate tightrope walk that requires precision. But speaking of actors, check out these shows that you will watch mainly for the ensemble casts involved.
