Gibson said that he rejected the role of Maximus in Ridley Scott's Gladiator simply because he felt that he was too old to play the role. He was only 43, by the way. Russell Crowe got offered the part instead, and he left a much more important mark on history than Mel Gibson ever could.
Sandra Bernhard, Sex and the City
Sara Bernhard does not regret passing up the role of Miranda Hobbes in Sex and the City. In an interview with Howard Stern, Hobbes relayed that the script was "terrible" and the pay was just as bad.
Bernhard also had her reservations about working with Sarah Jessica Parker. “[I would have had] to play third or fourth fiddle to [Parker] and put up with her s***. It would have been hideous to work with her.”
Tom Selleck, Indiana Jones
Because of Harrison Ford's outstanding performance in Star Wars, Steven Spielberg wanted to hire him to be Indiana Jones. However, George Lucas wasn't too fond of that idea. Since Ford had already played a major character in a different Lucas film, he wanted some fresh blood on the screen.