6 More Actors Who Almost Played Iconic Movie Roles

Dougray Scott was cast as Wolverine — then Mission: Impossible II ran long

Dougray Scott was cast as Wolverine in 2000's X-Men, but reshoots on Mission: Impossible II ran long and he couldn't get to the X-Men set on schedule. Director Bryan Singer replaced him with a then-largely-unknown Hugh Jackman, who went on to play the character in nine films over the next 24 years.

Sylvester Stallone rewrote Beverly Hills Cop into an action movie — then lost the part entirely

Sylvester Stallone was the original choice to play Axel Foley, and rewrote large chunks of the script into a harder-edged action vehicle for himself. Paramount balked at his rewrite and the ballooning budget it required, and handed the part — along with the original, funnier script — to Eddie Murphy instead. Beverly Hills Cop became one of the biggest hits of 1984.

Christina Applegate turned down Legally Blonde

Christina Applegate passed on playing Elle Woods, wary of being typecast in yet another ditzy-blonde role. Reese Witherspoon took the part and turned Elle Woods into a pop-culture icon, spawning a sequel and a Broadway musical.

Emily Blunt lost Black Widow to a contract she couldn't get out of

Marvel wanted Emily Blunt for Black Widow in Iron Man 2, but a prior two-picture deal tied her to Gulliver's Travels and she couldn't get released from it in time. Scarlett Johansson signed on instead, turning Natasha Romanoff into a decade-plus MCU mainstay. Blunt later called it "a bit of a heartbreaker," but added, "the best girl got it."

Molly Ringwald turned down Pretty Woman

Molly Ringwald was offered the lead in Pretty Woman and said no — she found the original, much darker script, about a drug-addicted sex worker, "icky." The story was rewritten into a romantic comedy, Julia Roberts signed on, and the film made her a star.

Harvey Keitel was replaced mid-shoot on Apocalypse Now

Harvey Keitel was cast as Captain Willard and had already been filming for weeks when Francis Ford Coppola decided his performance wasn't capturing the character's internal unraveling. Coppola fired him and recast the role with Martin Sheen, reshooting Keitel's scenes from scratch.