Legendary Hollywood siblings who competed against each other for the same iconic movie roles

Chris Hemsworth is globally recognised for his iconic portrayal of the superhero Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But the MCU could have looked very different, as his younger brother, Liam, was also considered for the part. 

When asked whether Liam had auditioned for the role during an interview with Vanity Fair, Chris confirmed that the rumours were true.

“Yes he did,” revealed the Australian actor. However, he wasn’t worried that his brother would land the part. 

“I was told I didn’t have the part at that point. So I was excited for him, a little jealous maybe but I was excited for him,” he explained. “Then when I was allowed to re-audition, it was when he was out of the picture.” 

“So we never were neck and neck,” continued the actor. “It was either I was involved, then wasn’t, then he was involved, then wasn’t, then I was involved.”

Twin sisters Tia and Tamera Mowry, who rose to fame starring in the hit ’90s sitcom Sister, Sister, very nearly got their big break a few years earlier on another iconic sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Both sisters auditioned for the role of Ashley Banks in the Will Smith-starring comedy series. 

In 2021, Tia, 47, told BuzzFeed that she and her sister lost out to Tatyana Ali, but noted that if they had, they might not have landed the starring roles in Sister, Sister, which aired from 1994 to 1999. 

“I was going in for Tatyana Ali,” she said. “My sister and I both auditioned for that role, but we didn’t get it. But we’re glad we didn’t get it, because we probably wouldn’t have done Sister, Sister.”

Jason London landed his breakout role starring opposite Reese Witherspoon in the 1991 coming-of-age drama The Man in the Moon – but he wasn’t even supposed to be in the room.

Speaking with Texas Monthly in 1999, Jason revealed that it was his twin brother, Jeremy, who actually wanted the part and just needed a ride to the casting call.

“Jeremy wanted to go to this audition in Dallas for The Man in the Moon, and he talked me into driving him,” explained the actor. “I didn’t want to go because I had a date with my girlfriend, but I was the one who ended up getting the part.”

Thankfully, there were no hard feelings. Jeremy went on to find his own major success shortly after, landing a starring role in the drama series I’ll Fly Away.

Joseph Fiennes earned his first BAFTA nomination thanks to his portrayal of William Shakespeare in the 1998 Oscar winner, Shakespeare in Love. But did you know that his brother, Ralph, was also in the running for the role? 

Long before Gwyneth Paltrow boarded the project as Viola de Lesseps, Julia Roberts was attached to star. During the early stages of development, Roberts performed chemistry reads with several leading men – including Ralph.

When Roberts eventually walked away from the film, production shut down. It wasn’t until a few years later, when Miramax revived the movie, that the script was recast and Gwyneth and Joseph landed the roles.