“I auditioned with Kate Winslet,” he said. “[I] had a good audition, [and] walked away from there pretty confident that I had it. I didn’t get it. I never got offered that.”
Robin Williams, The Shining
Robin Williams was the first person that Kubrick considered casting as Jack Torrance in The Shining. But, evidently, Kubrick thought that Williams was "too psychotic" to assume the role. Instead, the position went to Jack Nicholson, which cemented him as one of the most legendary actors of all time.
Burt Reynolds, Live and Let Die
In 1973, Burt Reynolds squashed his opportunity to play James Bond in Live and Let Die. In 2015, Reynolds talked to USA Today about declining the part because he didn't think that the James Bond audience would be able to accept an American agent 007.