Lawrence Fishburne turned down Pulp Fiction

There are tons of stories about actors turning down roles in famous films.

But - you have to remember, just because they were sent a script doesn't mean they were going to get the part or were even truly in the running to get it.

There are only so many roles to go around, so agents have relationships with studios to provide scripts to actors so it appears that they are getting them work options. It feeds the actor's ego as well.

My friend was an agent at CAA and he did this all the time. So take these stories with a grain of salt. Actually turning down a role isn't that common if they were actually interested and did a script and screen test. You don't go through all of that for a part you want just to then turn it down.

And yes - even big stars have to read for roles. It's not automatic. Big stars have to hustle and play the game. Now the bigger question is what part did actors go for and didn't get? The actors were turned down - not the other way around.

Not very interesting. It’s been done to death here. And then the idiot posters chime in as if every name on some endless list was actually approached or offered the part. This makes for lame Hollywood history threads.

[quote]I was today years old

Oh shut up and fuck off.

[quote]My friend was an agent at CAA and he did this all the time. So take these stories with a grain of salt. Actually turning down a role isn't that common if they were actually interested and did a script and screen test. You don't go through all of that for a part you want just to then turn it down.

Actually, there are many times when an actor does. The usual factors are: the director / costar / scriptwriter, etc. has left the project since the job was offered to you and you're no longer interested in the project with the new people in place. You read stories like that ALL the time. 'Major star' didn't want to work with a certain director who came onboard, so 'major star' leaves the project - very common.

No one says “today years old,” anymore, OP. How embarrassing for you.

OP, we include links in posts such as this. Do better.

I can't imagine anyone other than Samuel L Jackson being better in that role.

Pulp Fiction should have swept the Oscars.

I found this post confusing because I thought Fishburne was in Pulp Fiction.

I always get Lawrence Fishburne and Samuel L Jackson mixed up.

They're like Dermont Mulroney and Dylan McDermott - they're essentially interchangeable.

Yet he said YES to Cowboy Curtis??

OP must be a Reddit user, where that phrase is overused ad nauseam.

I understand that Barbra Streisand turned down the title role in PATTON (1970) along with all of the dozens she claims she turned down.

His name is LAURENCE, not Lawrence.

Off the top of my head, I can think of three Oscar Winning roles where each winning actress was a replacement for the original actress offered the role but declined for various reasons.

1) Michelle Pfeiffer was offered Silence of the Lambs but there were scheduling conflicts and she was hesitant to play in such a dark film. It then went to Meg Ryan who turned it down before they settled on third choice: Jodie Foster. The studio tried very hard to convince first Pfeiffer, then Ryan to take the roles. Jodie desperately wanted it from the very beginning and was willing to wait it out. Interestingly, they each actress was represented by different agents, but all from the same agency: ICM.

2) Jane Campion aggressively sought Sigourney Weaver for The Piano. When Weaver's agent rejected the role, it was offered to Holly Hunter. Years later, Sigourney claimed she was never informed and knew nothing about the offer. She fired her agent.

3) Ironically, Holly Hunter was all set to lead opposite Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets. A week before filming was to begin, she had some huge falling out with Director James Brooks. In stepped Helen Hunt.

Laurence would have been great, but Jackson was iconic. Fishburn is more quietly sinister, but Jackson is fierce and loud and you do not fuck with him.

[QUOTE] They're like Dermont Mulroney and Dylan McDermott - they're essentially interchangeable.

No one has any reason to bring up either one of them.

Will Smith turned down Neo in The Matrix and thank God for that.

[quote]Dermont Mulroney

DERMOT.

Just about every top actress was offered Basic Instinct and turned it down before they settled on Sharon Stone, (which made her career!). Stone's manager was pushing her from the beginning and the producers sort of had no choice before finally giving in.

The actress most sought after was Geena Davis. They were in final negotiations, but Davis insisted she wouldn't do the beaver shot, so it became a stalemate.

The funniest part was after the film was released - and became a smash hit - Stone played innocent and kept insisting in interviews she had been duped and had NO IDEA the camera would be placed where it was, and claimed she had been persuaded to remove her panties because of some lighting issue.

Yet the beaver shot had been written in the script the entire time!

I think I posted this before...

Patrick McGoohan at the height of "Danger Man" fame was first choice to be James Bond. He turned it down, as he disliked the character's womanizing. So his "Hell Drivers" castmate Sean Connery got the offer.

THEN McGoohan was offered the original TV role as "The Saint," which he ALSO refused. Enter Roger Moore.

As for themselves being rejected:

Austin Butler first auditioned for Rooster in "Top Gun: Maverick," and Miles Teller first auditioned for Elvis in "Elvis."

Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct, Titanic, Pretty Woman and Gone Girl (to name a few)