What if These Roles Were Played by Other Stars?
Kirk Douglas turned down the role of Cat Ballou which won Lee Marvin an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Can you imagine Kirk in this role?
Kirk also turned down the role of Sergeant J.J. Sefton in Stalag 17 which earned William Holden an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Can you imagine Kirk in this role?
Paul Newman turned down the role of Jake Holman in Sand Pebbles which won Steve McQueen his only Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Can you imagine Paul in this role?
Paul also turned down the role of Judah Ben Hur in Ben Hur which earned Charleston Heston an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. Can you imagine Paul in this role?
Paul also turned down the role of Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry and recommended his friend, Clint Eastwood who went on to quadruple his fame with the series of Dirty Harry films. Can you imagine Paul in this role?
Steve McQueen turned down the role of Popeye Doyle in The French Connection which went to Gene Hackman who won an Oscar for his role as Best Actor in a Leading Role. Can you imagine Steve in this role?
Steve was set to star as John Rambo in First Blood, but unfortunately died of cancer before filming began and Sylvester Stallone got the role. The rest is history. Can you imagine McQueen in this role?
Steve also turned down the role of Sundance in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid. The role went to Robert Redford. Can you imagine McQueen as Sundance?
Cary Grant turned down the role of James Bond in Dr. No which ultimately went to Sean Connery and the series was born. Can you imagine Grant in this role?
Cary also turned down the role of Norman Maine in A Star is Born as Judy Garland's alcoholic has-been director husband which went to James Mason. Can you imagine Cary in this role?
Elvis Presley turned down the role as Brick Pollitt in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof which went to Paul Newman. Can you imagine Elvis in this role? More to the question, could Liz have imagined Elvis in this role?
Elvis also turned down the role of Danny Zuko in Grease which went to John Travolta. Can you imagine Elvis in this role? Actually, Elvis's manager Colonel Tom Parker turned down this role as well.
Al Pacino turned down the role of Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind which went to Richard Dreyfuss. Can you imagine Al in this role?
Al also turned town the role of Colonel Walter E. Kurtz in Apocalypse Now which was given to Marlon Brando. Can you imagine Pacino in this role?
Frank Sinatra turned down the role of Harry Callahan in Dirty Harry because of a broken finger. After Paul Newman also turned it down, Paul recommended his friend Clint Eastwood. Can you imagine Frank as Dirty Harry?
Frank also turned down the role of Paul Kersey in Death Wish which went to Charles Bronson and made him a super star.
Marlon Brando turned down the role of T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia which went to Peter O'Toole for which O'Toole won an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. Can you imagine Brando in this role?
Marlon also turned down the role of Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid after Steve McQueen dropped out. The role went to Robert Redford. Can you imagine Brando as Sundance?
Marlon Brando also turned down the role of Marshal Will Kane in High Noon which went to Gary Cooper who won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal. Can you imagine Brando in this role?
