Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: Guess What Roles These Actors Turned Down

Hollywood lore tells us that the King of Rock and Roll was very interested in both films, but that his manager's crazy demands ruined both for him.

Temple was long considered to be the front-runner for the role of Dorothy, but when push came to shove the studio went with Judy Garland because of her more impressive vocal range.

Smith was originally approached for the role of Neo, played by Keanu Reeves. He turned down the iconic role, however, because he "didn't get it."

Believe it or not, both Nicholson and Selleck were offered the role before Ford, who was already a celebrity in his own right at the time. Selleck really wanted to do it, but his filming schedule with the show "Magnum, P.I." couldn't be changed.

Ryder had to drop out from exhaustion due to filming multiple movies back-to-back. Both Madonna and Roberts were considered for the role, too, but thought to be too old. Sofia Coppola was the daughter of the director Francis Ford Coppola and her performance as Mary was widely panned. Sofia became an accomplished director in her own right, apparently deciding acting was not her thing.

Even though Stan was favored by some production bigwigs, the producer eventually convinced them to cast Evans as Steve Rogers. Stan took solace in the role of Bucky Barnes, however, so it all worked out.

Fox was originally considered for the part in the original 1985 film, but his "Family Ties" schedule didn't mesh with doing the movie. So, Stoltz (best known at the time for "Mask") was hired, and then was fired after six weeks of filming because he didn't have the necessary comic skills to pull it off. Somehow, Fox made his schedule work out, and the rest is history.

Word has it that Eminem wanted to film in Detroit, but the director wouldn't make that happen, so Slim Shady declined.

It's tough to imagine anyone other than Gere acting alongside Julia Roberts in that film, but the director originally wanted Pacino for the part. Pacino turned it down even though he felt the movie would be a big hit.

That's right, Danny Zuko himself almost played the role that netted Tom Hanks an Academy Award for Best Actor. He hasn't said why he turned it down at a time when his career needed a boost. Travolta went on to star in "Pulp Fiction" instead so it all worked out.