Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford are icons. Lucasfilm Ltd. » Star Wars » characters and the actors who play them are icons. So it’s…
Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford are icons.
Lucasfilm Ltd.
» Star Wars » characters and the actors who play them are icons. So it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role.
But other big name actors put their names into the audition pool. If anyone else had been cast, these movies could have been completely different.
Here are 15 actors who were almost in the «Star Wars» movies.
During the » An Evening with Pacino » event in 2013, the actor revealed that he could have played the iconic role of Han Solo in the «Star Wars» franchise.
«It was mine for the taking but I didn’t understand the script,» he said.
Burt Reynolds told Business Insider that he wasn’t interested in that sort of role at the time he was asked.
«I just didn’t want to play that kind of role at the time,» he told BI. «Now I regret it. I wish I would have done it.»
Sylvester Stallone told Jimmy Fallon on NBC’s «The Tonight Show» that he bombed his «Star Wars» audition on purpose.
«Let me just make it easy for you,» Stallone told Fallon of what he said to George Lucas and his producers. «I would look like crap in spandex leotards and a ray gun. Guys in space don’t have this face. I get it.»
Kurt Russell told USA Today that he auditioned for the roles but ended up taking a western show on ABC.
«[I was] interviewing for the part of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. On tape, it exists,» he said. «I didn’t have any idea what I was talking about. Something about a Death Star and a Millennium Falcon. I was actually pretty [close], in the final running, but I needed to give an answer to ABC to do a western show. I asked George, ‘Do you think you’re gonna use me?’ He said, ‘I don’t know if I want to put you with him, or those two guys together.’ I got to go to work, so I did the western. Clearly, made the right choice.»
The series was «The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters,» which only ran for one season.
Jodie Foster was barely in her teens when there was interest in her for the role of Princess Leia. She told Total Film that she was too busy doing other projects and didn’t regret her decision.
«I was doing two films back-to-back at the time,» she said. «It would have been fun. But my career would have been different, and I’m happy with the one I’ve got so I don’t really regret it. And honestly, I was 14 or 15 at the time and it was when they were still conceiving those characters as very young. By the time they got to making it, they had a totally different conception of the film.»
Leonardo DiCaprio told ShortList that he met with George Lucas over the role but ultimately didn’t want it.
«[I] just didn’t feel ready to take that dive,» he said. «At that point.»
Ryan Phillippe told MTV in 2008 that he actually read with Natalie Portman when he went up for Anakin.
«I read with Natalie Portman,» he said. «I think it was sort of an age thing in their mind. It wasn’t quite right, but yeah, they were interested.»
Rooney Mara never auditioned for the part, but she did meet with director Gareth Edwards to talk about it.
She told Deadline, «I met with the director, and I really liked him, but then I didn’t end up reading for it. I was working and it wasn’t the right thing for me, so I decided not to read for it.»
Michael Fassbender said he had spoken with director JJ Abrams about a part in an interview for MTV’s «Happy, Sad, Confused» podcast.
«We talked about a role,» he said. «We had a conversation. I’m pretty sure I was busy doing something else in the summer he was kickstarting that.»
In 2013, before much information was known about «The Force Awakens,» Ronan told Empire that she went out for a role. It’s unknown exactly what part Saoirse Ronan auditioned for, but her detailed description of the audition process seems to point to Rey.
«Everyone has auditioned for it,» she said. «So many people I know have gone in for the part I’ve gone in for, and guys who’ve gone in for a particular part, so I’d imagine J. [Abrams, the director] is probably just scanning the earth to find the people that ne needs, but nobody has a clue what it’s about, and nobody’s read the script…. I think it’s the only time I’ve ever thought, ‘You know what? Even if I don’t get it, I had so much fun auditioning, pretending to take out a lightsaber out of a bag, kind of inspect it, and not know what it is.'»
Eddie Redmayne told Uproxx that he had a bad audition for Kylo Ren.
«They gave me like a ‘Star Trek’ scene — or like something from ‘Pride and Prejudice,'» he said. «With films that top secret, they don’t give you the actual lines…but then they tell you you’re auditioning for the baddie. If you’re me, you then put some ridiculous voice on.»
Ahmed Best, who played Jar Binks, told Vice that Michael Jackson had expressed interest in the role but director George Lucas turned him down.
«Me, Natalie Portman, and George’s kids — we were at Wembley arena at Michael Jackson’s concert. We were taken backstage and we met Michael,» he said. «George introduced me as ‘Jar Jar’ and I was like, ‘That’s kind of weird.'»
Best asked Lucas why he did that.
«He said, ‘Well, Michael wanted to do the part but he wanted to do it in prosthetics and makeup like ‘Thriller,'» Best said. «George wanted to do it in CGI. My guess is ultimately Michael Jackson would have been bigger than the movie, and I don’t think he wanted that.»
Gary Oldman was reportedly offered the role but ended up turning it down because he didn’t want to break a regulation from the Screen Actors Guild banning its members from working on a non-SAG set.
Oldman’s manager Doug Urbanski said at the time, «We did urge Lucas[film] to ask SAG for special permission for Gary to do the movie, but they became very annoyed and I know they are still annoyed. We’re quite puzzled by the whole thing. But out of respect for and solidarity with the other (SAG) members, he could not and would not consider violating the rules of his union.»
Nearly 10 years later, Oldman reportedly had another «Star Wars» shot when he said he’d been called for a role in «The Force Awakens,» but nothing came of it.
