When Opportunity Knocks

When opportunity knocks, versatile second-choice actors are always ready to answer doors-and make roles their own

Melissa Miller and Russell Costanzo | Published January 31, 2004

Garland: Perfect as Dorothy—but producers wanted Shirley Temple.

Couldn't get Julia Roberts for your film? Renée Zellweger was too busy? Not to worry, some inspiring lesser-known actors will get their day in the sun for this very reason.

Whether it's because their schedules were too full or the material too racy, A-list actors have always let meaty roles slip through their fingers. And guess who's there to catch them?

Have you seen the movie Almost Famous, starring Brad Pitt and Sarah Polley? That's because they both passed, leaving the lead roles ripe to be plucked by Billy Crudup and Kate Hudson. Interestingly, that caused a chain reaction. Polley was originally wanted for Penny Lane and Hudson for Anita, Patrick Fugit's airline pilot sister. Once Polley was out of the picture, Hudson was offered the lead role and Zooey Deschanel was cast in the supporting one. When she was a guest on the popular IFC show “Dinner for Five,” Deschanel revealed that on more than one occasion she hasn't been the first choice, but she doesn't mind. “I'm always getting hand-me-down roles, so I'm thankful… It just gives me a chance. The Almost Famous experience ended up working out really well. I mean, for me it was just great.”

Earlier this year, Details fueled a rumor that Sofia Coppola had originally written Lost In Translation for Kirsten Dunst. When she wasn't available, Coppola cast Scarlett Johansson, who garnered critical acclaim opposite Bill Murray—not to mention a Golden Globe nomination.

Also common are incidents of producers starting with lesser-known actors but dropping them once bigger names come along. After spending two years developing American Psycho, Mary Harron and Christian Bale were given their walking papers from Lions Gate, who got wind that a white-hot, fresh-off-the-Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio was interested in the title role. It didn't matter to the Lions Gate braintrust how right for the part Bale was; they now had their golden ticket and they were gonna cash in. DiCaprio's camp later bailed, saying there had never been a formal contract and that DiCaprio had merely expressed interest. With their tail jammed firmly between their legs, Lions Gate crawled back to Harron and Bale. The budget went from a DiCaprio-inflated $41 million back to an indie-appropriate $7 million. Christian Bale ended up encompassing the character of Patrick Bateman so completely that one cannot imagine anyone else in the role. It also made Bale a hot commodity; he's now set to play the next Batman.

Since the Golden Age of cinema, second-choice actors have gotten their big breaks in the same way. Shirley Temple would have been following the yellow brick road if she hadn't passed on The Wizard of Oz. Judy Garland made the part her own and the rest is history.

The same goes for Easy Rider, one of the most important independent films ever made. Jack Nicholson's career might never have been if Dennis Hopper hadn't pulled a knife on Rip Torn. After Torn fled the project, Nicholson, who had all but given up on acting, jumped on the back of Peter Fonda's Harley and rode it all the way to an Oscar nomination.

Speaking of passing up Academy Award-worthy roles: when Newsweek asked Angela Bassett why she passed on the character Halle Berry won an Oscar for in Monster's Ball, she replied, “I wasn't going to be a prostitute on film. I couldn't do that, because it's such a stereotype about black women and sexuality.” Shocking statements, especially since Berry didn't play a prostitute. But even more surprising was when Lee Daniels, the film's producer, denied ever offering Bassett the role.

One of the most recent and noteworthy instances of “The Scraps Effect” would be the indie hit Secretary. Maggie Gyllenhaal went from an unknown to the very top of the Indie It-List (and gathered Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award nominations along the way). Sure, we'd all like to believe that Gyllenhaal was bred from birth to play the role, but anyone who has produced a film knows all about obstacles.

In an interview on the Rotten Tomatoes Website, director Steven Shainberg said “Like all independent movies, the first thing you're looking for is a name actor who will justify your financing and, in this case, everybody passed. But in the process of going down the A-list, I said to Ellen [Parks, casting director on the film], ‘We all think this is astounding, but they all in the real world might be afraid of it—we'd better look at other people.'”

Parks remembers the process. “It took close to a year to cast Secretary, and we returned to Maggie again and again as ‘the one to beat.' But since the role was clearly the lead, as well as the most interesting and challenging part in the movie, it was the one to which ‘name value' was most likely to attach.”

They went out to numerous bigger names like Christina Ricci and Claire Danes, who weren't available. Other actresses, such as Sarah Polley and Kate Hudson, simply passed. Parks says Reese Witherspoon was initially intrigued, but in the end she passed, as well, probably because the role was too far outside her comfort zone.

Says Parks about her Secretary experience: “I'm so proud that this was one case where the right person was cast for the right reasons—and immensely grateful that Steve and the producers were finally persuaded to value the talent factor above all and trust Maggie to get the job done.”

Here's to hoping more plum roles slip through the cracks. MM

SHARE THIS STORY Digg StumbleUpon Facebook Del.icio.us Reddit Yahoo

TAGS

COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT

POST A COMMENT

OUR PRIVACY POLICY | We will not publish or sell or share your email address or other personal information. Read more.

Name:
Email:
URL:

Type the word you see below:

Comment:

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?

SITE DELIVERY OPTIONS