Although she doesn't feel too beat up about it, Applegate joked in an interview that she probably shouldn't have turned down the role. Witherspoon cleaned up a Golden Globe nomination for her acting. Applegate released this statement in an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen: “I don’t regret it because Reese Witherspoon did a much better job than I ever could... and she has now way more money than I do and way more success. And so why would I even regret that?”
Nicholas Cage, The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky was looking to cast someone to play Randy "The Ram" Robinson in the 2008 movie: The Wrestler. He wanted Mickey Rourke from the get-go, but that didn't pan out. So, he set his sights on Nic Cage.
Nic Cage, who is not one to turn down a role, had a sudden change of heart right before the shooting was supposed to begin. “I resigned from the movie because I didn’t think I had enough time to achieve the look of the wrestler who was on steroids, which I would never do,” he said when he was interviewed about the situation in 2009.
Angela Bassett, Monster’s Ball
Halle Berry won an Oscar for Best Actress for her work in Monster's Ball. In fact, this made her the first black woman to ever win the Oscar for Best Actress. That being said, things might have been a lot different if Angela Bassett decided to pursue the role when she originally got cast to play Leticia Musgrove.