- 6 months ago
We’re always up for some juicy Hollywood drama!
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most outrageous, unexpected, and downright shocking cases of actors dropping out of movie productions — no matter the reason!
From creative clashes to sudden firings and personal crises, these departures left directors scrambling, co-stars reeling, and sometimes even changed the course of film history. Our list includes behind-the-scenes shakeups from films like V for Vendetta, The Lovely Bones, Apocalypse Now, and more!
But we want to hear from YOU:
Which casting almosts do you wish had actually happened?
Cillian Murphy donning the cape as Batman?
Brad Pitt going full spy mode as Jason Bourne?
Or the ultimate '90s showdown — Schwarzenegger vs. Stallone in Face/Off?
Drop your dream casting near-misses in the comments below — and let the fan-casting begin!
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most outrageous, unexpected, and downright shocking cases of actors dropping out of movie productions — no matter the reason!
From creative clashes to sudden firings and personal crises, these departures left directors scrambling, co-stars reeling, and sometimes even changed the course of film history. Our list includes behind-the-scenes shakeups from films like V for Vendetta, The Lovely Bones, Apocalypse Now, and more!
But we want to hear from YOU:
Which casting almosts do you wish had actually happened?
Cillian Murphy donning the cape as Batman?
Brad Pitt going full spy mode as Jason Bourne?
Or the ultimate '90s showdown — Schwarzenegger vs. Stallone in Face/Off?
Drop your dream casting near-misses in the comments below — and let the fan-casting begin!
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PeopleTranscript
00:00Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks. I am not trying to rob you.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most outrageous incidents
00:12of an actor exiting a film production for whatever reason.
00:15I drink your milkshake. I drink it up!
00:23Number 20. Terrence Howard, Iron Man 2.
00:26The film that launched the epic Marvel Cinematic Universe, 2008's Iron Man, was a smash hit with
00:31fans. With Robert Downey Jr. in the lead role of Tony Stark, his BFF James Rhodes was played by
00:36Terrence Howard, who was reportedly the movie's highest-paid actor. But before Howard could
00:40fulfill his on-screen promise of wearing the War Machine armor, he was dropped in favor of Don
00:45Cheadle for the 2010 sequel. Hey, buddy. Didn't expect to see you here. Look, it's me. I'm here.
00:51Deal with it. Let's move on. According to reports,
00:53the filmmakers were disappointed by Howard's performance and his difficult behavior on set.
00:58He was offered a reduced role with up to an 80% wage decrease for the sequel.
01:02Howard turned it down, believing his money ended up covering some of Downey's increased payday.
01:10Next time, baby.
01:12Number 19. Armie Hammer, Shotgun Wedding.
01:15At one point, Armie Hammer looked like the next breakout A-lister in Hollywood,
01:18with several critically acclaimed films in his credits.
01:21Does this make you happy?
01:24You're not going to get a nosebleed on me, are you?
01:26In 2020, he was cast in 2022's Shotgun Wedding, alongside Jennifer Lopez. Then, in 2021,
01:32Hammer's career came crashing down, with allegations of abusive behavior and assaults
01:37to partners, as well as his desire to partake in consuming humans.
01:40Yikes.
01:41Immediately, many film productions distanced themselves from him. Hammer dropped out of Shotgun Wedding,
01:46stating he couldn't leave his family during this scandal to spend four months in the Dominican
01:49Republic. The role of Tom Fowler was then given to Josh Duhamel, who emailed Hammer to offer his
01:54support.
01:55How do you feel?
01:56I feel horrible. I feel...horrible.
01:58Excited.
02:00Number 18. Charlie Hunnam, Fifty Shades of Grey.
02:03Are you planning on going full frontal or using a body double?
02:07Never body double.
02:08No?
02:09Never.
02:09Not long after the Fifty Shades of Grey novel was released, loads of celebs were seen with the
02:13book. Unsurprisingly, with that publicity, a film was a foregone conclusion. In 2013, it
02:19was announced the two main roles will be played by Dakota Johnson and Charlie Hunnam. However,
02:24a month later, he dropped out, and the part was given to Jamie Dornan. The reason for the
02:28change was originally believed to be a scheduling issue. In a sense, that was true, but in 2014,
02:33Hunnam explained it further. He said his work schedule was so packed due to balancing Sons
02:37of Anarchy alongside shooting Crimson Peak that he experienced a nervous breakdown when considering
02:42adding Fifty Shades and had to withdraw.
02:44Do you ever regret giving that up?
02:46You know, I find the decision-making process in life in general, but particularly with my
02:53work, extremely difficult.
02:55Number 17. Billy Idol, The Doors and Terminator 2 Judgment Day.
02:59After establishing himself in the music world, Idol was going to branch out with two massive
03:03film roles. However, in 1990, he crashed his motorbike, sustaining a severely broken leg and arm.
03:09Singer Billy Idol was seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Los Angeles early
03:13yesterday morning when the Harley he was driving collided with another vehicle.
03:16Idol was in surgery for seven hours to repair the damage. Though he recovered,
03:20the musician could no longer play the film roles he signed up for. Idol stated he was
03:24meant to play Tom Baker in The Doors. However, Michael Madsen was handed the role,
03:28while Idol was given the vastly reduced part of Cat.
03:30Pour me my breakfast, Dolores.
03:34Yeah, what's the matter with Jimbo?
03:36Can't I die?
03:37For Terminator 2 Judgment Day, he was going to be the T-1000. Since Idol could barely walk,
03:42let alone chase after Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Patrick was magnificently cast instead.
03:47Number 16. Will Smith, The Matrix.
03:49In an alternate reality, this is an earth where Keanu Reeves didn't wear a Neo's black trench
03:54coat for 1999's The Matrix, but the Fresh Prince of Belair star did.
03:57As explained by the actor on his YouTube channel, Smith met with the Wachowskis who pitched the
04:14part to him. The Wachowskis focused their pitch on the action sequences, where Neo freezes in
04:18midair instead of the story or character development. Because of this approach, the actor didn't really
04:23understand what The Matrix was. In addition, the siblings were still relatively new as directors
04:27of feature films. After consideration, he rejected The Matrix and took on Wild Wild West instead,
04:33a decision he may have regretted.
04:34I probably would've messed The Matrix up. I would've ruined it. So I did y'all a favor.
04:39Number 15. Megan Fox, Transformers Dark of the Moon.
04:43Filmmaker Michael Bay and Fox have a long, turbulent relationship, which includes her leading
04:48roles in the Transformers franchise. Initially, all seemed well, even if Bay couldn't stop his
04:53male gaze whenever Fox was on screen. However, in 2009, Fox gave an interview discussing the
04:58difficulty of working on set for the director and compared him to Adolf Hitler.
05:02His solution to that problem was to then have me dancing underneath a waterfall getting soaking wet.
05:09As such, she was effectively replaced with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for the third installment,
05:13Transformers Dark of the Moon. As for what happened, it depends on who you ask.
05:17Fox claimed she left, while Bay-Stated producer Steven Spielberg told him to replace her,
05:21which Spielberg denied. Mysterious.
05:24What is that?
05:25This is your new lucky bunny.
05:30Number 14. Will Ferrell, Reagan.
05:33These are my woods. And this is my gun.
05:39A movie about a nation's leader struggling to cope with a degenerative disease sounds like a piece
05:44that could be discussed and celebrated in film classes. However, what if, instead of being a
05:49gritty drama, it was played as a comedy? Well, that was the plan for the film Reagan when news
05:54broke about it in 2016. It would focus on Ronald Reagan, played by Will Ferrell, suffering from
05:58dementia during his second term as U.S. president. Upon announcement of the project, the Reagan family
06:03expressed its outrage, as did some associates of Reagan and some members of the media. Two days
06:08after Ferrell's casting announcement, he pulled it out of the project, and it vanished into obscurity.
06:12Boy, that escalated quickly. I mean, that really got out of hand fast.
06:19Number 13. Harvey Keitel, Apocalypse Now.
06:22I'm Winston Wolfe. I solve problems.
06:25Good, we got one. So I heard. May I come in?
06:27Considering the amount of setbacks and damage to the crew and cast's physical and mental health,
06:31it's amazing that Apocalypse Now is finished, let alone became such an acclaimed film.
06:36Before Martin Sheen donned the war paint of Captain Willard, Harvey Keitel was handed the role
06:40and given a seven-year contract. Yet, days into filming, director Francis Ford Coppola was unhappy
06:45with Keitel's portrayal, as he reportedly found him too intense. Coppola offered Sheen the role,
06:50and when he accepted, Keitel was out. However, the actor wasn't removed from the final cut
06:54completely, according to editor Walter Murch. During one of the scenes showing a boat turning in
06:58the water, Keitel can be seen on the vessel.
07:00Apocalypse Now was at a bump. It was an experience.
07:04And, uh, a valuable experience.
07:07Number 12. Shia LaBeouf
07:09Don't Worry Darling
07:10Few recent films have had reports of a director clashing with their main cast as 2022's Don't
07:15Worry Darling.
07:16Alice, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
07:23Olivia Wilde directed, as well as starred and produced the film, and as director, she allegedly
07:28had a few conflicts with Florence Pugh. She also had to contend with Shia LaBeouf, who eventually
07:32left the production. The cause was originally claimed to be a scheduling conflict, but then
07:36things got confusing. Wilde later stated that LaBeouf's combative energy with fellow actors
07:41and crew, along with the fact that he made Pugh uncomfortable, caused her to fire him.
07:45However, he responded that he quit due to the lack of rehearsal. LaBeouf later showed apparent
07:49messages from Wilde that begged him to return, which the director denied.
07:52So just to be clear here, did you fire Shia LaBeouf?
07:56We had to replace Shia.
07:58Number 11. Eric Stoltz, Back to the Future.
08:01Today, it's impossible to imagine anyone other than Michael J. Fox wearing the iconic
08:05red body warmer of Marty McFly in 1985's Back to the Future. Yet, that nearly happened.
08:10Eric Stoltz was cast as McFly, but several weeks into filming, director Robert Zemeckis
08:14saw a problem. Reportedly, the actor was too intense and wasn't capturing the comedic tone
08:19that was needed. Stoltz also implemented a method acting technique, allegedly bruising
08:23Biff's actor Thomas F. Wilson in a scene. The filmmakers approached Fox, who agreed to
08:27take the role.
08:28I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet.
08:30When Fox became available, Zemeckis informed Stoltz of his firing. This casting change caused
08:3534 days of filming to be torn up. Yet, Fox captured the comedy essence and saved the franchise.
08:40He's a magnificent actor, but his comedy sensibilities were very different than what
08:44I had written with Bob. And he and I just never were able to make
08:48that work.
08:50Number 10. James Reamer, Aliens.
08:53Come on. Quit playing around. You don't want to play around with me.
09:00Let me out of this thing!
09:01James Reamer, best known for his portrayal of Ajax in the cult classic The Warriors,
09:05and for playing Dexter's father Harry Morgan on Dexter, was director James Cameron's first
09:10choice to play Corporal Dwayne Hicks in the sequel to 1979's Alien. However, a couple of weeks
09:15into production, he was replaced by Michael Biehn. For years, the reason for the change
09:19was chalked up to creative differences, but the truth turned out to be much more shocking.
09:23Reamer was dealing with a fairly serious drug problem when he was cast as Hicks, and was
09:27ultimately fired from the production after being arrested for drug possession, although
09:30some shots of him remain in the film.
09:32Son, there are people out there who do really bad things. Terrible people. And the police
09:40can't catch them all.
09:41Number 9. Ed Skrein, Hellboy
09:44In the wake of whitewashing complaints, actor Ed Skrein, who you'll recognize as the baddie
09:48from 2016's Deadpool, dropped out of the planned 2019 Hellboy reboot.
09:52Now I'm gonna shut you in again, Wade. Not because I need to. Because I want to.
10:04Whitewashing is the infamous Hollywood practice that involves the casting of white actors in
10:09the roles of historically non-white characters. Skrein had been cast as Ben Daimyo, who the
10:13graphic novel the film is based on describes as being of Japanese-American descent.
10:17There's someone I want to introduce you to, okay? Major Ben Daimyo, head of special ops
10:23for M-11.
10:25M-11?
10:26My son, huh? I thought you guys disbanded after the war.
10:30And I thought we were supposed to be fighting monsters, not working with them.
10:33Skrein's decision to leave the film was widely praised, and his replacement, Korean-American
10:37actor Daniel Dae Kim, lauded him for the move.
10:40Number 8. Ryan Gosling, The Lovely Bones
10:43In yet another instance of an actor being fired only to claim he left over creative differences
10:47with the director, the truth behind Ryan Gosling's departure from The Lovely Bones is far more
10:52intriguing than what was originally reported. Gosling, who'd been cast in the role of Jack
10:55Salmon, which later went to Mark Wahlberg, showed up on set bearded and 60 pounds overweight,
11:00two physical transformations he had not discussed with director Peter Jackson.
11:04You're expecting an angel and you get Nixon.
11:06Exactly.
11:07Jackson was understandably perturbed by the sudden change in his lead actor's appearance,
11:10and fired him. Gosling would claim that he was too young for the part, but the truth,
11:14as it's been known to do, eventually came out.
11:17Okay, you can hire us, but we're not cheap.
11:20This is very intensive work, and for something like this, I'd say I couldn't do it for less
11:25than $5,000.
11:27Number 7. Kel O'Neill, There Will Be Blood
11:30There Will Be Blood is the story of a ruthless oil tycoon who clashes with a local pastor during
11:35Southern California's turn-of-the-century oil boom. Kel O'Neill had originally been cast in
11:39the role of the pastor, but left amid reports that lead actor Daniel Day-Lewis' style was too
11:43much for him to handle. Day-Lewis, of course, is notorious for staying in character regardless
11:48of whether or not the cameras are rolling.
11:49I am the third revelation. I am the third revelation.
11:56While both Day-Lewis and director Paul Thomas Anderson have denied these claims, it's not
11:59hard to imagine O'Neill being thrown off his game when he realized his co-star had decided
12:03to live as the man who relished berating the character he was portraying.
12:07Number 6. Jean-Claude Van Damme, Predator
12:14Before he was an internationally recognized action star, Jean-Claude Van Damme was just
12:18a young Belgian actor trying to make it in Hollywood.
12:20You hold this. If I can grab it, before you close your hand, I get the girl.
12:26His career appeared to be heading in the right direction when he was cast as the titular bad
12:29guy in 1987's Predator. Unfortunately, JCVD didn't see eye-to-eye with director John McTiernan
12:35when it came to his character's costume, among other things.
12:38Van Damme felt that the cloaking costume made him look silly, unaware that it would be edited
12:42out by the visual effects team in post-production.
12:45Two days into shooting, Van Damme dropped out and was replaced by Kevin Peter Hall, who
12:49donned a significantly redesigned costume.
12:51What the hell are you?
12:55Number 5. Sean Connery, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring
12:59A staple on pretty much every list of actors who turned down iconic movie roles, Sean Connery's
13:04decision to turn down the role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy is a serious
13:07head-scratcher. The Academy Award winner reportedly declined Peter Jackson's offer to play the
13:12bearded wizard, because when it came to the script, he never understood it.
13:15What does that mean?
13:17I don't know.
13:19We'll find out.
13:21You know who did understand it? Ian McKellen.
13:23The worst part is that had Connery taken the role, he would have been owed 15% of the
13:27trilogy's worldwide box office receipts, a number that would have amounted to over $400 million.
13:32That's a lot of money, Mr. Bond.
13:34A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.
13:43Number 4. James Purefoy, V for Vendetta
13:46British actor James Purefoy was director James McTeague's first choice to play the mask-wearing
13:51vigilante known only as V in the 2005 dystopian thriller V for Vendetta.
13:55Verily, this vicious swaze of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's
14:00my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V.
14:04However, the role required him to wear a Guy Fawkes mask for the entirety of the shoot,
14:08which he claimed made it extremely difficult to act in.
14:10Six weeks into filming, Purefoy decided that he had had enough.
14:13I removed each one individually.
14:16He quit the production and was replaced by Hugo Weaving.
14:25Seeing as how the character's mask is a major part of his identity, anyone who couldn't
14:28act beneath it clearly wasn't a good fit for the role.
14:30Weaving sure pulled it off, though.
14:32Number 3. Christian Bale, Steve Jobs
14:35Impressive. Very nice.
14:40Let's see Paul Allen's card.
14:41While you'd be hard-pressed to argue against Michael Fassbender's portrayal of Apple co-founder
14:45Steve Jobs in Danny Boyle's 2015 biopic, he was nominated for an Oscar, after all,
14:50at one point in the film's development, the role belonged to someone else.
14:53Christian Bale was cast as Jobs in 2014, but relinquished the role shortly after.
14:57The story goes that Steve's widow, Laureen Jobs, called Bale and begged him not to do
15:02the film. While his official position is that he left due to conflicted feelings over the
15:06part, we think the pleas of Laureen Jobs has something to do with it.
15:09Why do you want people to dislike you?
15:12I don't want people to dislike me.
15:15I'm indifferent to whether they dislike me.
15:18Number 2. Buddy Ebsen, The Wizard of Oz
15:21He probably didn't know it at the time, but when he was cast as the Scarecrow in 1939's
15:25The Wizard of Oz, Buddy Ebsen was on the verge of becoming part of film history.
15:29Well, first he was asked to switch roles with Ray Bulger to play the Tin Man instead.
15:33I'll see you reach The Wizard, whether I get a heart or not.
15:37Beehive.
15:37Bah.
15:38Let her try and make a beehive out of me.
15:41Then unfortunately, just 10 days into shooting, Ebsen was gone.
15:45It turned out that Ebsen was allergic to the aluminum powder makeup necessary to complete
15:49his transformation from man to Tin Man.
15:52A couple of your friends are trying to stall it off as best they can, but there's no telling
15:55how long they'll be able to hold out.
15:57Looks like my tour's over right now.
15:58How's the quickest way back?
15:59Way I come, in a saddle.
16:01The incident was actually pretty serious, as Ebsen was brought to the hospital in critical
16:04condition.
16:05Suffice it to say, he had to drop out.
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16:12about our latest videos.
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16:23Number 1.
16:24Kevin Spacey, All the Money in the World
16:26One heartbeat away from the presidency, not a single vote cast in my name.
16:31Democracy is so overrated.
16:332017 was the year of the Hollywood sex scandal, and Kevin Spacey was one of the celebrities
16:38who lost the most after he was accused of assaulting a 14-year-old Anthony Rapp in 1986.
16:43Within two weeks of Rapp coming forward, Spacey had not only been accused by others, Netflix
16:48also dropped him from both House of Cards and a Gore Vidal biopic he was set to star in.
16:52Perhaps even more shocking was the fact that Spacey was completely removed from all the
16:56money in the world, and replaced by Christopher Plummer about a month before its release.
17:00Dirty and old, I have no problem with.
17:03In fact, I have an affection for them, as they are the words most frequently used to describe
17:09me.
17:10Recasting actors during production is one thing.
17:12Swapping them out so close to the release date is pretty much unprecedented.
17:16Which acting castings that nearly happened do you wish did?
17:19Cillian Murphy as Batman?
17:20Brad Pitt as Jason Bourne?
17:22Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone in Face Off?
17:24Or something else?
17:25Let us know below.
17:26The enunciation of truth.
17:28And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there?
17:33Did you enjoy this video?
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