In 2014, Jack Nicholson bore it all while interviewing with Movieline. He stated: “Back then I believed Indians should play Indians and Italians should play Italians. There were a lot of actors who could have played Michael, myself included, but Al Pacino was Michael Corleone. I can’t think of a better compliment to pay him.”
Al Pacino, Star Wars
Al Pachino and Sean Connery shared some similarities in their careers. Connery turned down playing Gandalf, and Pachino turned down playing Han Solo in Star Wars. Later on in his career, Pachino admitted that he missed a huge opportunity by turning down playing everyone's favorite space bandit.
Pachino ended up turning down a ton of important roles in his career. He turned down playing Ted Kramer in Kramer vs. Kramer, and he turned down playing Edward Lewis in Pretty Woman as well. He regrettably stated that “there is a museum of mistakes, all the movies I rejected,” when asked about his questionable career decisions.
Julia Roberts, Shakespeare in Love
Gwyneth Paltrow became the star she is today through the role of Viola De Lesseps in 1998’s Shakespeare in Love. Although Paltrow’s performance earned her an Oscar, Julia Roberts was actually the first one who was intended to play the role of De Lesseps. Roberts pulled out of the role just six weeks before the movie started getting filmed.