Eila Mell - Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film-by-Film Directory of Actors Considered For Roles Given To Others

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

BRITISH LIBRARY CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-0976-8

2005 Eila Mell. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

On the cover: background 2004 Thinkstock; clockwise from top: Jessica Biel, Maria Conchita Alonso, Kelly McGillis, Aidan Quinn, Brandon Lee

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com

For Jack and Erin

Screenwriter William Goldman has said that actors become stars by accident. Would Al Pacino be the star he is today had Robert Redford accepted the role of Michael Corleone in The Godfather? Then theres Humphrey Bogart, who practically owes his career to George Raft. Bogart made the following films Raft rejected: Dead End, It All Came True, The Maltese Falcon, High Sierra, All Through the Night, and Casablanca. Bogart is a legend; if not for Raft we might not even remember him.

Then there are the future stars who are turned down for roles. Imagine Tom Hanks rejecting Uma Thurman, saying that acting with her was like acting in a high school play. Its true! This was before Pulp Fiction made her an A-list actress and got her an Oscar nomination. Thurman auditioned to play opposite Hanks in The Bonfire of the Vanities. Although director Brian De Palma was interested in her, Hanks had casting approval, and Melanie Griffith (hot from Working Girl) was cast instead.

Casting Might-Have-Beens is full of such stories. The information was obtained through extensive research (see Notes section) and interviews.

The book is arranged alphabetically by film title (giving date). The actor who played the role is first listed along with the characters name. Immediately following, in parentheses, are the actors considered for the role, followed by one or more paragraphs telling the story behind the casting decision. Copious source notes accompany the entries, beginning on page 263; they are indicated by superscript numbers, which start over with each new letter of the alphabet.

An index of all actors, whether cast or considered, concludes the work.

In the book Live from New York, Lisa Kudrow gives some insight to the actors point of view: Thereve been a couple of things that I didnt get or got fired from, where friends who had a little more experience said, Its always a blessing when a door closes because another doors going to open.

Casting Might-Have-Beens gives you the chance to picture, for example, Danny Thomas as the Godfather, Michael Jackson as Edward Scissorhands, or Marilyn Monroe as Cleopatra. Imagine how different your favorite films might have been!

Rob Lowe as Danny (Dan Aykroyd)

James Belushi as Bernie (John Belushi)

Paramount Pictures asked Saturday Night Live co-stars John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd to star in About Last Night. The movie was based on David Mamets play, Sexual Perversity in Chicago. Belushis younger brother, Jim Belushi, starred in the play. When John Belushi asked his brother how he would feel if he took the role in the film, Jim said that it would kill him. John Belushi turned the part down. The movie was made a few years later with Jim who had, by that time, made a name for himself on the same show that made his late brother (John died of a drug overdose in 1982) famousSaturday Night Live.

Fred MacMurray as Richard Myles (Clark Gable)

Clark Gable turned down Fred MacMurrays role in Above Suspicion.

Kay Hammond as Mary Todd Lincoln (Una Merkel)

Una Merkel was originally cast as Mary Todd Lincoln. Director D.W. Griffith later changed his mind. He gave the part of Mary Todd Lincoln to Kay Hammond, while Merkel was switched over to the part of Ann Rutledge.

Una Merkel switched roles inAbraham Lincoln.

Paul Newman as Michael Gallagher (Al Pacino)

Sally Field as Megan Carter (Diane Keaton)

Director Sydney Pollack originally wanted Al Pacino to star as libeled businessman Michael Gallagher in Absence of Malice. The two had previously worked together when Pacino starred in Pollacks 1977 film, Bobby Deerfield. Pacino agreed to take on the part of Gallagher. Soon after, Pacino dropped out unexpectedly. Pollack replaced him with Paul Newman.

Diane Keaton was offered the part of Megan Carter. Keaton turned it down. Sally Field was cast in her place.

Ed Harris as Seth Frank (Clint Eastwood)

Clint Eastwood was initially sent the script of Absolute Power with the thought of him playing the role of detective Seth Frank. Eastwood read the script written by William Goldman. He liked it, but had a problem with the part of Seth. Eastwood felt that this role was something he had done many times before. Instead, Eastwood wanted to play thief Luther Whitney. In Goldmans screenplay Luther dies halfway through the film. If Eastwood were to star he would have to be in the film all the way through. Goldman altered the script to suit Eastwood and the actor signed on for the part. The role of Seth Frank was given to Ed Harris.

William Hurt as Macon Leary (Kevin Costner)

Geena Davis as Muriel Pritchett (Ellen Barkin, Colleen Camp, Kate Capshaw, Laura Dern, Melanie Griffith, Amy Madigan, Mary Steenburgen, Victoria Tennant, Jo Beth Williams)

All of the above actresses auditioned for the part of Muriel Pritchett. Ellen Barkin had a particularly difficult time at the audition. She has said that during her reading she was just waiting for it to be over, and was disappointed because she felt she was letting down William Hurt and director Lawrence Kasdan.

Kevin Costner was offered the starring role of Macon. He didnt want it, and it went instead to William Hurt.

Jodie Foster as Sarah Tobias (Rosanna Arquette, Kelly McGillis, Demi Moore, Meg Ryan, Meg Tilly)

Director Jonathan Kaplan wanted Kelly McGillis to star in The Accused as rape victim Sarah Tobias. McGillis refused the role. Some years earlier McGillis had been raped, and she felt that taking the part would be very painful. Kaplan still wanted McGillis in the film, and gave her the other starring role of lawyer Kathryn Murphy. Jodie Foster, whose career was in a slump at the time, desperately wanted the part of Sarah. The former child star of the 1970s, who received an Oscar nomination for her performance in 1976s