Legendary A-list actors who fiercely regret turning down roles that defined modern cinema

Toy Story is one of the most influential animated films of all-time, being the first entirely computer-animated movie and establishing Pixar as a major animation studio. Main toys Woody and Buzz Lightyear are played respectively by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, but producers initially wanted someone else to be the Space Ranger.

The When Harry Met Sally star was initially approached to be the voice actor for Buzz, but turned it down on the advice for his agent. Appearing on The Graham Norton Show back in 2012, he confessed: “I was the dope that turned it down, but it wasn’t about the character, it was a business thing, and my agent said not to do it, so I passed. Then it comes out and it is genius.”

Missing out on Buzz meant that when he was approached to voice Mike Wazowski in Monsters Inc., he seized on the opportunity.

Grease was one of the smash hits of the decade, and at the time became the highest-grossing musical ever. Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine anyone other than John Travolta as greaser Danny Zuko, but producers did have someone else in mind.

Henry Winkler who played the iconic ‘The Fonz’ in Happy Days ended up being the first choice for many in the casting department. Danny and ‘The Fonz’ were both incredibly similar, which led to Henry turning down the role out of fear of being typecast.

Speaking to CNN in 2022, Henry conceded: “I am a damn fool. I only realised years afterwards. I thought, ‘I’ve played the Fonz, I don’t want to do it again’. I go home… and I have a diet Coke. John Travolta, who has done the movie, goes home and buys a plane.”

The Matrix has to be one of the most beloved franchises of all time, spawning countless reinterpretations since it was first released back in 1999, while also making us all slightly doubt our reality.

While Madonna didn’t reveal which part she was meant to play in the film, the Vogue singer revealed that she was approached, even though she ultimately turned a role down. In 2021, the singer appeared on the Tonight Show where she addressed turning down the likes of Catwoman and Showgirls.

She then added: “But I also turned down the role in The Matrix. Can you believe that? I wanna kill myself. That’s like one of the best movies ever made. A teeny-tiny part of me regrets just that one moment in my life.“

One of the biggest films of the 90s was Speed, with the film going on to define the action genre. Part of its success was down to the chemistry between leads Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, but the role was initially meant to go to Halle Berry.

Speaking to Movieline in 1995, the actress revealed: “I turned down Speed because I thought, ‘I don’t want to drive that bus’. There wasn’t a whole lot of dialogue. I admit, I just don’t get it when I read action stuff like, ‘The bus flies 100 miles per hour over an overpass.’ One of the script versions they sent me, the bus never got out of Dodger Stadium, it just kept driving around and around the parking lot!”

She then added: “When I watched the finished movie, I loved it and I thought to myself, ‘The movie gods sure didn’t talk to me that day.’“

It’s the sci-fi franchise that has defined generations, and 50 years since its release, the Star Wars universe is still going strong. However, back in the 1970s, it hadn’t yet been established as a global icon, with some viewing it as a financial risk.

This led to iconic 70s star Burt Reynolds deciding against appearing in the sci-fi epic when he was offered the role of Han Solo, which ultimately went to Harrison Ford.

Speaking to Business Insider in 2016 about turning down the role, he revealed: “I just didn’t want to play that kind of role at the time. Now I regret it. I wish I would have done it.”