COVERAGE OF THE 84th ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS

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    Actors Who Rejected Oscar-Winning Roles

    In the category of juicy Hollywood roles, there are only two types of regrets: campaigning mightily for a role but not landing it, such as Bette Davis as Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind," Kirk Douglas in "Ben Hur" (1959), or reportedly Jodie Foster and Angelina Jolie -- respectively as Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly -- in "Chicago" (2002). The other qualm -- and maybe the one that stings more -- is rejecting a role that goes on to get Oscar love, be it the flattering nomination or the sweet win. Might ladies' man Warren Beatty have been a better pal to Paul Newman in "The Sting" than Robert Redford? Could Michelle Pfeiffer and Jodie Foster go on the lam as convincingly as Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in "Thelma and Louise"? What could have been? Here are some famous cinematic offers that have been refused. -- By Vera H.C. Chan, Yahoo!

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    43 comments

    • JJ
      JJ  •  3 months ago
      Paltrow's acting really wasn't that great in "Shakespeare in Love". Didn't really care for the movie, either.
      • Manderin
        Manderin 2 months ago
        I remember that year all the critics were saying that the actress in the lead of South Central station which was a foreign film deserved the oscar, but that she would not win it and that Paltrow would. On charlie rose the same thing was said and Rose asked one of the critics at the table why- Their response was because Paltrow was young and pretty and new while the other actress was much older and not attractive.
      • Pax
        Pax 2 months ago
        I hated Shakespeare in Love! And definitely did not think it deserved an Oscar!
    • SaxetC
      SaxetC  •  Dallas, Texas  •  2 months ago
      Who says that the actors rejecting the roles would have done as well, and been nominated for THEIR performance? If Jeff Gordon wins the Daytona 500 after offering to let me drive the car instead but I refused...why would anyone assume I "gave up" a win in the Daytona 500?
    • soroush
      soroush  •  Tehran, Iran  •  2 months ago
      http://www.xpango.com?ref=92665282
    • mondello 33
      mondello 33  •  2 months ago
      I found a dollar on the street so im going to write a screenplay about it
    • Lou
      Lou  •  Trenton, New Jersey  •  2 months ago
      Are actors really that talented anyway.I hate that word talent.I think a lot of people ca act including me.But mostly,to be an actor,you need to be in the business,connectionc,and of course,you need to be Jewish.
      • Monie
        Monie 2 months ago
        Spelling, proper sentence structure, and proper punctuation, help as well. Racist
      • king22
        king22 2 months ago
        dont forget being really short helps
      • Travis B.
        Travis B. 2 months ago
        If you are really good at memorizing lines you can be an actor, its that simple, I see young kids that are really good actors on the shows my daughter watches and they are all good
    • Niloofar
      Niloofar  •  Tehran, Iran  •  3 months ago
      why did you forget Brad Pitt for the role of Inman (cold mountain) that was nominated for the academy?
      • Niloofar
        Niloofar 3 months ago
        ofcourse brad rejected the role!!!
    • Thomas Jefferson Lady
      Thomas Jefferson Lady  •  Tampa, Florida  •  2 months ago
      Can't IMAGINE Betty Davis as Scarlett in Gone With The Wind !!!
      • Jibbie
        Jibbie 2 months ago
        Then apparently you never saw her 1938 OSCAR winning performance in Jezebel as Julie Marsden. She wanted the role of Scarlett O'Hara but not oppose Errol Flynn as Rhett Butler.
      • Sandy Wheat
        Sandy Wheat 2 months ago
        Not Betty Davis as Scarlett O'Hara, Susan Heyward could done good at 1939.
    • austin
      austin  •  Orange Park, Florida  •  2 months ago
      you no if they did accept the role it might not have been a oscar winner
    • Manderin
      Manderin  •  New York, New York  •  2 months ago
      "Julia Roberts had actually signed up for the role first, but reportedly wanted her then beau Daniel Day Lewis to be Will and withdrew."

      Wha??? What a big baby. She wouldn't do the acting role of playing a woman in love unless her then real life lover played Shakespeare-her film lover? How the hell would that even be acting? Her movie Eat, Pray, Love sucked.
    • Manderin
      Manderin  •  New York, New York  •  2 months ago
      Actors don't always turn down roles because they think the roles are losers--- they often turn them down because they don't think they are right for the role.
      Jim Parsons won an emmy for playing Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory... few people know that that part was originally offered to J. Galecki- but he turned it down because he didn't think he could play that part well. He took the part of leonard on the show instead.
    • Steven J
      Steven J  •  Chicago, Illinois  •  2 months ago
      Going a bit further back in time, and though not an Oscar winner, did you know...the first 2 choices for the role of Rick in "Casablanca" were George Raft and (GULP!!) Ronald Reagan? NOT Humphrey Bogart. I sometimes wonder, would the film have still been the classic it is if the "gipper" got the role? Or......could the course of history had been changed if Reagan's film career really took off as a result of the role, and perhaps he doesn't go into politics.
      • rupert
        rupert 2 months ago
        No, it wouldn't have become the classic it is. Reagan was a lousy actor and screen presence and an even worse President, popular opinion to the contrary.
      • M.O. Schrenk
        M.O. Schrenk 2 months ago
        Reagan was good as the Evil Boss in THE KILLERS. Only guy ever to slap Lee Marvin around and live to talk about it.
    • Travis B.
      Travis B.  •  2 months ago
      Rip Torn was supposed to get Jack Nicholson's part in Easy Rider
    • TheTruth
      TheTruth  •  New Orleans, Louisiana  •  2 months ago
      No,no people! Any gay guy can play a female part including the love scenes..........
    • A Yahoo! User  •  Norwalk, Connecticut  •  2 months ago
      Paltrow was paltrow... Shakespeare in Love was the role she was born for... Blanchett is the better actress, but not in that role. Just as we all Love Betty Davis... Betty is not Scarlett.. Selznick searched the World over for his Scarlett and he found her... Chatham
    • MaryEllen
      MaryEllen  •  Fort Myers, Florida  •  3 months ago
      Good morning everyone. I love Mike and Molly and even 2&1/2 men were good last week.
    • lilian
      lilian  •  Al Urmån, Egypt  •  3 months ago
      i love her
    • Dreamer
      Dreamer  •  3 months ago
      god, she is beautiful
    • omid
      omid  •  Tehran, Iran  •  3 months ago
      she is sexy
    • Nicole
      Nicole  •  3 months ago
      I like her better with darker hair
    • dennis
      dennis  •  Montesano, Washington  •  3 months ago
      If you got it you got it is over rated and over payed just like sports,but good money??
     Post a comment

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