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30 Actors That Were Considered For Famous Roles Vs. Who Actually Got Them

Harry Potter wouldn’t be the same without Ron Weasley. I mean, Rupert Grint. And the lovable naif Forrest Gump wouldn’t exist without Tom Hanks.

You see, most exceptionally strong characters become almost inseparable from the actors who played them. Like, Twilight and the official heartthrob of the 2000s, Robert Pattinson, will forever stay as the pale, charming vampire with a slow voice in a movie of otherwise questionable quality.

But it turns out, our all-time favorite roles could have been played by entirely different actors. So Bored Panda has compiled a list of pics of two actors, the original one versus the current one, placed side by side for an uncanny question of “what if?”

Let your imagination run free, and just think how different it would have been if Neo was Will Smith. It’s almost like history would also have to be rewritten, but who knows, maybe it’d have been for the better?

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Tim Roth Turned Down The Role Of Severus Snape In "Harry Potter", Eventually Played By Alan Rickman

Final score:

175points

30 Actors That Were Considered For Famous Roles Vs. Who Actually Got Them

Tim Roth Turned Down The Role Of Severus Snape In "Harry Potter", Eventually Played By Alan Rickman

Will Smith Turned Down The Role Of Neo In "The Matrix", Eventually Played By Keanu Reeves

Thomas Brodie-Sangster Auditioned For The Part Of Ron Weasley In "Harry Potter", Rupert Grint Was Cast

John Travolta Turned Down The Role Of Forrest Gump, Eventually Played By Tom Hanks

Sean Connery Said No To Playing Gandalf In "The Lord Of The Rings", Ian Mckellen Took The Part

Ian Mckellen Turned Down The Part Of Albus Dumbledore In "Harry Potter", Michael Gambon Was Cast

Tom Cruise Was Considered For The Part Of Iron Man, But Robert Downey, Jr Was Cast

Robin Williams Wanted To Play Rubeus Hagrid In "Harry Potter" But Was Rejected, Robbie Coltrane Got The Part

Jim Carrey Was Considered To Play Edward Scissorhands, Johnny Depp Got The Part

Russell Crowe Turned Down The Role Of Aragorn In "The Lord Of The Rings", Eventually Played By Viggo Mortensen

Bette Midler Turned Down The Part Of Sister Mary Clarence In "Sister Act", Eventually Played By Whoopi Goldberg

Eddie Redmayne Auditioned For The Part Of Star-Lord In "Guardians Of The Galaxy", But Chris Pratt Was Cast

Al Pacino Turned Down The Part Of Han Solo In "Star Wars", Eventually Played By Harrison Ford

Matthew Mcconaughey Auditioned For The Role Of Jack Dawson In "Titanic", Eventually Played By Leonardo Dicaprio

Christina Applegate Was Considered For The Role Of Elle Woods In "Legally Blonde", Eventually Played By Reese Witherspoon

Ryan Gosling Was Considered For The Role Of Doctor Strange, Eventually Played By Benedict Cumberbatch

Paul Giamatt Declined The Role Of Michael Scott In "The Office", Steve Carell Got The Part

Emily Blunt Was The First Choice To Play Black Widow, But Scarlett Johansson Got The Part

Hugh Grant Was Considered For The Part Of Gilderoy Lockhart In "Harry Potter", But Kenneth Branagh Was Cast

Gwyneth Paltrow Turned Down The Role Of Rose Dewitt Bukater In "Titanic", Kate Winslet Got The Part

Emilia Clarke Turned Down The Role Of Anastasia Steele In "Fifty Shades Of Grey", Eventually Played By Dakota Johnson

Liam Aiken Was Offered The Role Of Harry Potter, But Daniel Radcliffe Got The Part

Joanne Rowling Was Asked To Play Lily Potter In "Harry Potter", But She Declined, Geraldine Somerville Got The Part

Hugh Jackman Turned Down The Role Of James Bond, Eventually Played By Daniel Craig

Henry Cavill Was The First Pick To Play Edward Cullen In "Twilight", Robert Pattinson Was Cast For The Role

David Thewlis Was Considered For The Role Of Quirinus Quirrell In "Harry Potter", Eventually Played By Ian Hart

Britney Spears Auditioned For The Part Of Allie In "The Notebook", Eventually Played By Rachel Mcadams

Jennifer Lawrence Auditioned For The Role Of Bella Swan In "Twilight", But Kristen Stewart Was Cast Instead

Emma Watson Turned Down The Part Of Mia In "La La Land", Emma Stone Was Cast

Jack Nicholson Passed On The Role Of Michael Corleone In "The Godfather", Eventually Played By Al Pacino

Liam Hemsworth Auditioned For The Part Of Thor, But Chris Hemsworth Was Cast

Marilyn Monroe Was Considered For The Part Of Holly Golightly In " Breakfast At Tiffany's", Eventually Played By Audrey Hepburn

John Krasinski Auditioned For The Part Of Captain America, But Chris Evans Was Cast

Saoirse Ronan Auditioned For The Part Of Luna Lovegood In "Harry Potter", But Evanna Lynch Was Cast

Johnny Depp Was Considered For The Role Of Patrick Bateman In "American Psycho", Eventually Played By Christian Bale

Anna Popplewell Auditioned For The Part Of Hermione Granger In "Harry Potter", Eventually Played By Emma Watson

Emma Stone Was Considered For The Part Of Meg In "Little Women", But Emma Watson Got The Role

Nicolas Cage Was Offered The Role Of Aragorn In "The Lord Of The Rings", Eventually Played By Viggo Mortensen

Michelle Pfeiffer Was Considered For The Role Of Clarice Starling In "The Silence Of The Lambs", Eventually Played By Jodie Foster

Christopher Walken Auditioned For The Role Of Han Solo In "Star Wars", But Harrison Ford Got The Part

Nicolas Cage Was Considered For The Role Of Bender In "The Breakfast Club", Eventually Played By Judd Nelson

Eddie Murphy Was Considered For The Part Of Grinch In "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", But Jim Carrey Was Cast

Cameron Diaz Was Considered For The Role Of Mia Thermopolis In "The Princess Diaries", But Anne Hathaway Got The Part

Matt Leblanc Turned Down The Role Of Phil Dunphy In "Modern Family", Eventually Played By Ty Burrell

Tilda Swinton Was Offered The Part Of Sybill Patricia Trelawney In "Harry Potter", Eventually Played By Emma Thompson

Henry Cavill Was Considered For The Role Of Cedric Diggory In "Harry Potter", But The Part Went To Robert Pattinson

Jason Momoa Auditioned For The Role Of Drax In "Guardians Of The Galaxy", Eventually Played By Dave Bautista

Reese Witherspoon Auditioned To Play Cher Horowitz In "Clueless", Eventually Played By Alicia Silverstone

Saoirse Ronan Auditioned For The Part Of Rey In "Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker", Eventually Played By Daisy Ridley

Angelina Jolie Dropped Out From Playing Dr. Ryan Stone In "Gravity", Sandra Bullock Was Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal Was Considered For The Part Of Peter Parker In "Spider-Man", Eventually Played By Tobey Maguire

Glenn Howerton Auditioned For The Role Of Star-Lord In "Guardians Of The Galaxy", Eventually Played By Chris Pratt

Gwen Stefani Auditioned For The Role Of Jane Smith In "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", But Angelina Jolie Got The Part

Eric Mccormack Auditioned For The Role Of Ross Geller In "Friends", Eventually Played By David Schwimmer

Matt Damon Turned Down The Role Of Jake Sully In "Avatar", Eventually Played By Sam Worthington

Naomi Ellen Watts Was Considered For The Role Of Narcissa Malfoy In "Harry Potter", Eventually Played By Helen Mccrory

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Was Considered For The Part Of Ant-Man, But Paul Rudd Was Cast

Joaquin Phoenix Was Considered For The Part Of Doctor Strange, Eventually Played By Benedict Cumberbatch

Ryan Gosling Was The First Choice For The Part Of Joker In "Suicide Squad", But Jared Leto Was Cast

Denzel Washington Passed Up The Role Of Detective David Mills In "Se7en", Eventually Played By Brad Pitt

Rosamund Pike Turned Down The Role Of Rita Skeeter In "Harry Potter", Eventually Played By Miranda Richardson

Saoirse Ronan Was Considered For The Part Of Scarlet Witch, Eventually Played By Elizabeth Olsen

Anne Hathaway Dropped Out From Playing Tiffany In "The Silver Linings Playbook", Jennifer Lawrence Was Cast Instead

Olivia Wilde Passed On The Role Of Gamora In "Guardians Of The Galaxy", Eventually Played By Zoe Saldana

Kate Elizabeth Winslet Was Offered The Role Of Helena Ravenclaw In "Harry Potter", But Kelly Macdonald Got The Part

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