Stars Who Turned Down Major Movie & TV Roles: Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow & More – Yahoo Entertainment

Gwyneth Paltrow in Titanic? Brad Pitt in Almost Famous? Some of the most iconic roles in film and TV could have looked very different had they gone with the original casting choices. Before Billy Crudup brought Stillwater frontman Russell Hammond to life in the 2000 musical drama, director Cameron Crowe had his eye on Pitt, who was “starting” his now-legendary career. “He really had something,” Crowe said during the first episode of the “Origins: Almost Famous Turns Twenty” podcast in July 2020. Casting director Gail Levin agreed, noting that the Ad Astra star was clearly the ” first choice” of the team for the character. “We loved that idea and he was Brad Pitt,” Levin explained on the podcast. “I mean, he was funny and handsome and talented. … That kind of charisma and screen presence would have been really, really great for this role.” While Pitt passed his audition — and Crowe was “rolling on the floor” laughing — it just wasn’t the ideal fit for the moment. Crowe even admitted he “cried” when the Fight Club star pulled out of the project. “But I think deep in my brain I knew he never completely fell in love with the character,” Crowe said. “He had fallen in love with the idea of ​​the character. But maybe there just wasn’t enough on the page.” The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor isn’t the only one who turned down the opportunity to play a soon-to-be iconic role. In 2015, Paltrow admitted she could have starred in the 1997 box office hit Titanic. “I think back to the choices I made and I’m like, ‘Why the hell did I say yes to this and no to this?'” she told Howard Stern at the time. “And you know, you look at the big picture and think, ‘There’s a universal lesson here. What’s the point of keeping roles? “” The Country Strong actress went on to joke that her mother, actress Blythe Danner, would I’m not proud of her for leaking industry secrets. “My mom is gonna kill me for talking about turning down movie roles,” she teased. “She says it’s not very feminine.” Scroll down to find out which stars have almost played some of the most iconic roles in film and TV!