Leonardo DiCaprio wants to play Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights
After seeing him in Diary of a Rebel, Paul Thomas Anderson wanted DiCaprio to star in Boogie Nights. But DiCaprio turned him down to appear in Titanic but instead recommended his friend and Diaries co-star Mark Wahlberg for the role.
DiCaprio told The Magazine in 2008 that he was sorry he turned down the role. "Boogie Nights is a movie that I loved and wish I had made."
Asked if he would change his decision if he could, DiCaprio said: "I'm not saying I would have. But my career would have gone in another direction. I think both characters are great and I wish I could have done both."
DiCaprio was also offered $20 million at Lionsgate to play serial killer Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, despite director Mary Harron wanting Christian Bale for the role. Harron was replaced by Oliver Stone, but DiCaprio and Stone could not agree on a creative direction, so DiCaprio left to film The Beach. Harron returned to the project and Bale was hired.
Matthew McConaughey could have been the lead in Titanic instead of Leonardo DiCaprio.
In an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Kate Winslet revealed that she auditioned for Titanic alongside Matthew McConaughey.
"I auditioned with Matthew McConaughey, isn't that weird?" Winslet recounted. "I had never said it in public."
McConaughey later went on Watch What Happens Live and told host Andy Cohen that his casting for the role of Jack "went very well" to the point where he was told, "You're what we're looking for." The actor was so sure he was going to be cast that he told his agent that he had "nailed it."
Tom Selleck had to turn down the role of Indiana Jones because of his contract in a television series.
After seeing Ford in Star Wars, director Steven Spielberg wanted Ford to play Indiana Jones. But George Lucas, who was the executive producer of Raiders of the Lost Ark, didn't want to hire him for another of his projects.
Selleck was cast to play Jones but had to drop out due to his contractual obligations with the series Magnum, P.I., so Lucas relented and Ford was cast in the role.
Harrison Ford could have played Alan Grant in Jurassic Park.
Director Steven Spielberg and Ford had worked together on the Indiana Jones films, but when Spielberg offered Ford the role of Dr. Alan Grant, the actor declined.
Angela Bassett did not want to play Leticia in "Monster's Ball".
Angela Bassett turned down the role of Leticia in Monster's Ball because she found her stereotypical and demeaning. She assured Newsweek that: "she was not going to play a prostitute (although the role is not literally that of a prostitute) in a movie. She could not have done it because she is a stereotype about black women."
Berry became the first African-American actress to win a best actress Oscar for her role in the film.
