Oh, what might have been! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we’re looking at instances where an actor unexpectedly exited a film project, leading to a last-minute replacement. Minor spoilers will ensue!
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00:00We're not going to fall for a banana in the tailpipe.
00:02You're not going to fall for the banana in the tailpipe?
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at instances where an actor unexpectedly exited a film project,
00:11leading to a last-minute replacement. Minor spoilers will ensue.
00:14Now you know why they call me Dirty Harry. Every dirty job, it comes along.
00:21Dennis Hopper, The Truman Show.
00:23Let's not do anything rash here.
00:26I mean, are you sure she's worth all this? I mean, she never does stop talking. She never shuts up.
00:31Ed Harris' Kristoff is a master manipulator who curates every aspect of lead man Truman's life.
00:37As the producer of the in-universe Truman Show, Harris can and does fire actors at will,
00:42especially those who develop sympathies for the clueless Truman.
00:45But how do you intend to explain his 22-year absence?
00:50Amnesia.
00:52Brilliant.
00:53Before Harris came to play the cruel producer, it was first given to Dennis Hopper.
00:58Hopper's performance proved unsatisfactory to producers, and he was let go.
01:02Ed Harris finally agreed to accept the role, though not until many other actors had turned it down.
01:07Life imitates art imitates life.
01:09Don't look in the camera. Say something. Keep it going. Keep it going.
01:12He's gone.
01:13Cut transmission!
01:14Cut transmission?
01:15Cut it!
01:16James McAvoy, 5050.
01:18In this unlikely comedy, public radio journalist Adam's life is upended when a cancerous tumor is discovered in his spine.
01:25A tumor? Yes.
01:27Me? Yes.
01:29Hey, that doesn't make any sense, though.
01:32Facing infidelity, befriending fellow patients, and a slow-burn relationship with his therapist,
01:37Joseph Gordon-Levitt's role is a difficult one, juggling comedy and pathos.
01:42The role of Adam was initially given to James McAvoy.
01:44Fearing he'd miss his first child's birth, though, McAvoy dropped out.
01:48There are thousands of men on those ships, good, honest, innocent men, that's just following orders.
01:54It would have been interesting to see how McAvoy would have fared in a tragic comedy.
01:58As it is, Gordon-Levitt delivers a straight-man performance that plays well against the comic absurdities of his supporting cast.
02:04Looks okay, right?
02:07No, looks really weird.
02:09We shouldn't have done this.
02:10Yeah, big mistake.
02:11Why didn't we go to a barber?
02:12That would have been a good idea.
02:14DEBORAH WINGER, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
02:16Beware the consequences of hating Madonna too much.
02:19A League of Their Own is a classic film by Penny Marshall,
02:22following the triumphs and struggles of the All-American Girls' Professional Baseball League.
02:26Yeah, what are you, a genius?
02:28You know, they got over a hundred girls here, so, um, some of you's are gonna have to go home.
02:32Yeah, sorry about that.
02:33Come on, Doris.
02:34Deborah Winger was initially among the star-studded cast,
02:37getting ready to play Dottie after Demi Moore dropped out due to her pregnancy.
02:40But Madonna's casting as May proved to be a deal-breaker for Winger.
02:44Per Winger, the film was becoming more like an Elvis film.
02:48So, is all of this absolutely necessary, Will?
02:52The filmmakers finally cast Geena Davis,
02:54fresh off her lead role in Thelma & Louise, as Dottie.
02:57Lesson learned.
02:58Don't let Madonna's presence foil your ball-playing dreams.
03:01Hey, Kit!
03:04Lay off of those high ones.
03:07I like the high ones.
03:08COLIN FIRTH, PADDINGTON
03:10A critical and commercial success, followed by a well-received sequel,
03:14Paddington's titular, cuddly, sentient bear could have had a different voice altogether.
03:18Colin Firth was cast as the voice for Paddington, a very British choice.
03:22I see a young man with potential.
03:26A young man who is loyal.
03:28However, during production, Firth had difficulty settling on the right voice for the character.
03:32When he dropped out, he was replaced by Ben Whishaw,
03:35who imbues a gentle warmth to the character.
03:38Hi, big fella.
03:39What's cooking?
03:39Marmalade, Mr. Brown.
03:41Go on, have a taste.
03:42Mmm, delicious.
03:44And just one sandwich contains all the vitamins and minerals a bear needs for the whole day.
03:48It would have been something to have seen, or rather heard, Firth's crisp propriety.
03:52But as it is, Whishaw delivers a charming performance suitable for this sweet, family-friendly film.
03:58I will never be like other people.
04:00But that's all right.
04:02Because I'm a bear.
04:04A bear called Paddington.
04:07Sylvester Stallone, Beverly Hills Cop
04:09In this buddy-cop action comedy, Eddie Murphy plays rough detective Axel Foley on probation for a failed sting operation.
04:16Murphy's independent, street-smart, but warm interpretation of Axel makes him an endearing protagonist to follow.
04:22It's only right to tell me, Summer, that Mr. Ahmed Foley is here to see...
04:26No, Axel Foley.
04:27Axel.
04:27Ah-mah, ah-well.
04:29Axel.
04:31Foley is here to see her. He's an old acquaintance.
04:34Before Murphy was called in for the role,
04:35the part was given to Sylvester Stallone.
04:37Stallone had a different vision for the film, rewriting the action comedy into a standard action flick.
04:42You're a disease, and I'm the cure.
04:46No doubt that would have been more in line with Stallone's talents,
04:49but the producers were loathe to get rid of the comedy.
04:51Stallone eventually used these ideas for his film Cobra,
04:54and Murphy got a chance to flex his action comedy chops.
04:57All's well that ends well.
04:58I remember you used to drive that crappy blue Chevy Nova.
05:04What are you driving now?
05:06Same crappy blue Chevy Nova.
05:08Jean-Claude Van Damme, Predator.
05:10This major franchise could have been very different with another Predator.
05:14In the original sci-fi film, Vietnam veteran Dutch leads an expedition
05:18that discovers and hunts for the titular alien creature.
05:21What the hell is wrong with you?
05:27There's something in those trees.
05:29The creature was initially going to be played by Jean-Claude Van Damme.
05:32Van Damme had the advantage of martial arts training,
05:35with his Predator being more of a stealthy, evasive hunter.
05:38That would make you Frank Dux.
05:39No, no, no. It's Dukes.
05:42Gotcha. Like put up your dukes, right?
05:45However, Damme complained about the stuffy bodysuit,
05:48claiming it was too hot to breathe.
05:50Damme's slight physique, especially compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead role,
05:54was also a factor, with the filmmakers deciding
05:56that a more physically intimidating creature was necessary.
06:00What the hell are you?
06:03They settled on Kevin Peter Hall instead, with Peter Cullen providing the voice.
06:15For fans, it'd be hard to imagine an actor other than Jamie Dornan
06:19to play Christian Grey, the billionaire with particular bedroom tastes.
06:23Charlie Hunnam was originally cast opposite Dakota Johnson, however.
06:27I'm gonna give you a beautiful life.
06:29Interestingly enough, Hunnam initially turned down the part before he reconsidered.
06:33Once he read the book, he even grew excited to play the part,
06:36doing successful readings with Johnson.
06:38Unfortunately, Hunnam still had the final season of Sons of Anarchy left to film.
06:43Now it's too late.
06:46You knew that was gonna happen.
06:48On top of that, he had promised his friend Guillermo del Toro
06:51that he would star in his film Crimson Peak.
06:53Many actors were considered for Hunnam's replacement
06:56before Jamie Dornan was picked for Grey.
06:58Why am I here, Christian?
07:04You're here because I'm incapable of leaving you alone.
07:07Frank Sinatra, Dirty Harry.
07:09Inspector Callahan's hunt for sadistic killer Scorpio in this neo-noir
07:13could have had an entirely different Dirty Harry.
07:15Well, you can just get yourself another delivery boy.
07:19Legendary singer Frank Sinatra had some acting chops
07:22and a real-life rough-and-tough personality.
07:24The script was even picked up with him in mind.
07:26But a wrist injury that Sinatra got while filming The Manchurian Candidate
07:29proved a grave detriment to any heavy-action shenanigans.
07:33I've been having this nightmare.
07:36A real swinger of a nightmare, too.
07:38Other contenders for Callahan ranged from John Wayne to Marlon Brando
07:42to Burt Lancaster to Steve McQueen.
07:44In the end, Clint Eastwood took on the role.
07:47Perhaps casting Sinatra would have avoided some of the film's controversy,
07:50but Eastwood undoubtedly was suited for a cop who takes matters into his own hands.
07:54You've got to ask yourself one question.
07:57Do I feel lucky?
07:59Well, do you, punk?
08:03Director Francis Ford Coppola's delayed return to his legendary Godfather series
08:07disappointed many fans and critics alike.
08:10A chief complaint concerned the performance of Coppola's daughter, Sofia,
08:13cast for the role of Michael Corleone's daughter, Mary.
08:16Only if you ask.
08:17What is this really for?
08:20Why are you doing this?
08:21Winona Ryder, who was all set to play the role,
08:24suffered exhaustion from working movies back-to-back
08:27and had to drop out at the last minute.
08:29Desperate for a replacement, Coppola turned to his daughter for the role.
08:32Hi, Vincent. I remember you.
08:37You remember me? From where?
08:39From the last time we were at a party together.
08:41The results were catastrophic.
08:43Critics went to town on Coppola's stilted performance,
08:46a lambast verging on cruel.
08:48Whether critics would have been more favorable to the film had Ryder played Mary
08:52has been the subject of much speculation.
08:54Either way, this last-minute casting decision would be the stuff of Hollywood infamy.
08:59Come on, we're back.
09:02You don't have to do this to me, please.
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09:20Tom Selleck, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
09:23There is and never should be a version of this classic film
09:26without Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.
09:29But this film was almost made entirely without Ford in the picture.
09:35No time to argue. Throw me the idol, I throw you the whip.
09:38Give me the whip.
09:40Adios, senor.
09:41George Lucas initially wanted an unknown actor to play the lead role.
09:45Having cast Ford in Star Wars, Lucas had no desire to repeat actors.
09:49Tom Selleck was the favorite, but he was contractually obligated to star in CBS's Magnum P.I.
09:54Well, maybe I can help.
09:57You mean that?
09:59Laura, I am a private investigator.
10:02When Lucas and Steven Spielberg requested CBS to release Selleck early,
10:05it greenlit the show instead, forcing Selleck to drop out.
10:08Ouch.
10:09With no lead man, they turned to Harrison Ford, who was happy to oblige.
10:14The rest is Hollywood history, with the part fitting Ford like a glove, or a fedora.
10:19Come on.
10:21Buy a drink.
10:24You know.
10:26A drink?
10:27Which other case of an actor quitting at the last minute lives in your head rent-free?
10:31Wondering what might have been?
10:33Let us know in the comments down below.
10:35Was nothing real?
10:37You were real.
10:39It's what made you so good to watch.
10:42Did you enjoy this video?
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