10 Times Actors Lost Blockbuster Roles For Unbelievable Reasons

Mistakes Which Cost These Actors a Blockbuster Movie

Every actor dreams of being a blockbuster movie for once in their Hollywood career. However, sometimes they can't choose a role for certain reasons and sometimes they lost these roles outright due to some minor error. Here are 10 instances where actors lost roles in blockbuster movie due to questionable reasons.

Dougray Scott as Wolverine - Wolverine

The 'Wolverine' that could've been. Dougray Scott was 100% cast as Wolverine and was the production's first choice. He was just finishing up filming Mission: Impossible 2, where he played the main villain. Unfortunately, the M:I-2 shoot was famously disastrous, running months over schedule. The X-Men team waited as long as they could, but Scott was still unavailable (and injured), so they were forced to cast their last-minute backup: a tall, unknown Australian theater actor named Hugh Jackman.

Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly - Back to The Future

While Stoltz is an amazing actor, there was a clear misdirection about his portrayal of the character. In a sci-fi comedy movie, he was basically playing a Shakespearean tragedy which did not fit well with the directors. The problem? He was a serious Method actor who played the role with a dark, brooding intensity. The filmmakers realized their lighthearted comedy felt like a "tragedy," so they made the brutal decision to fire him, scrap the footage, and hire their original choice, Michael J. Fox, at great expense.

Anne Hathaway as Alison Scott - Knocked Up

Anne Hathaway was originally cast as the lead in Judd Apatow's comedy blockbuster. However, she took issue with Apatow's plan to use real footage of a live birth for the film's climax. Hathaway felt it wasn't necessary for the story, and the creative clash led to her departure. She was replaced by Katherine Heigl, who, in a twist of irony, later publicly disavowed the film. In a way both actors for the role were completely out of sync with the director's creative vision (or the lack of it).

Marcus Chong as Tank - Matrix

There was a rather bizarre contract dispute between Chong and the producers of 'Matrix'. Tank was the popular operator of the Nebuchadnezzar in the first film. But when it came time for the sequels, Chong entered a messy contract negotiation, demanding more money. When he didn't get it, he (allegedly) began making harassing phone calls to the directors. Unsurprisingly, his character was unceremoniously killed off-screen and replaced by his "brother-in-law," Link.

Jean-Claude Van Damme as The Predator - Predator

He hated the fact that he was being cast as an alien hunter. He reportedly hated the suit and was too hot, and that he (the star) shouldn't be an uncredited special effect. He was fired and replaced with an actor in a newly designed, infinitely cooler suit. Ironically, his biggest concern was the fact that the suit didn't look good enough for his liking. He thought he'd be in a sleek outfit doing martial arts, but the original creature design was a clumsy, bright-red suit for VFX purposes.

James Purefoy as V - V for Vendetta

Purefoy was casted for six weeks as the lead but his problem was- he simply hated the mask. He discovered he hatedacting from behind the stiff, smiling Guy Fawkes mask, feeling it was too restrictive. He quit the film, forcing the production to hire Hugo Weaving at the last minute, who famously dubbed his own voice over some of Purefoy's already-shot scenes.

Stuart Townsend as Aragorn - Lord of The Rings

This was a complete disaster by the studio itself. They hired him and trained him for two months and just fired him for being too young essentially wasting his time on a role that was never meant for him. Townsend moved to New Zealand, and trained for months in sword-fighting and horse-riding. On the literal day before filming began, the producers had a change of heart and fired him, deciding they needed an older, more "grizzled" actor. Viggo Mortensen was famously hired and flown out just days later.

Terrence Howard as James "Rhodey" Rhodes - Iron Man

Marvel did him really petty after his first movie. Terrence Howard was the highest-paid actor in the first Iron Man, making more than even Robert Downey Jr. When the sequel came around, RDJ's star power (and salary) had exploded. Marvel wanted to re-negotiate and pay Howard less than his original contract. Howard refused, so Marvel simply replaced him with Don Cheadle, costing Howard a role in the biggest cinematic franchise in history.

Ryan Gosling as Jack Salmon - The Lovely Bones

Ryan Gosling lost his role over a really weird reason. He was trying to play a grieving father and as such he decided that he should be overweight for the role. He gained 60 pounds by drinking melted Häagen-Dazs. When he showed up to set, director Peter Jackson was horrified. This was not the vision he had for the character, and the "dumb" lack of communication led to Gosling being fired on the spot (and replaced by Mark Wahlberg).

Megan Fox as Mikaela Banes - Transformers

Megan Fox was a popular star and a part of an amazing blockbuster franchise- 'Transformers'. However, she was unable to stay for long in the movies as she insulted the director, Michael Bay during an interview. In a 2009 interview, she famously said Bay was "a nightmare to work for" and that on set, "he wants to be like Hitler". Steven Spielberg who was the executive producer did not like her quote and she was fired overnight.