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Casting choices that were almost different

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I'm not a big fan of The Office, but I love this video of other famous actors auditioning for roles in the show. Interesting to think of how differently the series could have been and how different the career trajectories of those actors could have been had they landed these roles.
 
DaaaaB's said:
He apparently hated filming that scene. When the guy playing the cop ad libbed the line "I've got a little kid at home" it really disturbed Madsen and he had trouble finishing the scene.
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Ya it’s pretty weird all the graphic violence I’ve seen in movies and tv shows over the years, that I’ve never gone back and rewatched Reservoir Dogs.

My young and innocent teen brain kind of pops up and says “hell nah dude!” any time adult me thinks about watching it.

Kind of wild TBTH because there are a bunch of actors in the film I really like.

Maybe one day, who knows.

Does he kill the cop? I can’t even remember that part.
 
Just an observation. With the McQueen turning down roles.

Michael Caine gave interview years ago after he was given a list of roles he turned down

He had not turned down any of the roles named.

He said "in one year I received about 500 scripts. I did 3 movies that year. In Hollywood language that means I turned down 497 movies. The amount of scripts that are given to actors vs movies they make? It is insane. Unless you have the actor saying he turned down the role and producers saying they offered the role, do not believe it. Sometimes it is all about getting the press.:
 
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I think it is time to post links to back up turn downs

www.theguardian.com

It could have been so different

Bruce Willis was made for Die Hard, right? And Harrison Ford was perfect as Indiana Jones? But those actors weren’t the the film-makers’ first choice. Mark King on the mystery of casting.
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 
Mr Jiggyfly said:
Ya it’s pretty weird all the graphic violence I’ve seen in movies and tv shows over the years, that I’ve never gone back and rewatched Reservoir Dogs.

My young and innocent teen brain kind of pops up and says “hell nah dude!” any time adult me thinks about watching it.

Kind of wild TBTH because there are a bunch of actors in the film I really like.

Maybe one day, who knows.

Does he kill the cop? I can’t even remember that part.
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He didn't but another character does.
 
Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the Predator with the intent that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the Predator an agile, ninja-like hunter. But when the 5'9" Van Damme was compared to Schwarzenegger, Weathers, and Ventura — actors over 6 feet tall and known for their bodybuilding regimens — it became apparent a more physically imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Additionally, it was reported that Van Damme constantly complained about the monster suit being too hot and causing him to pass out. He allegedly had also repeatedly voiced reservations about only appearing on camera in the suit. Additionally, the original design for the Predator was felt to be too cumbersome and difficult to manage in the jungle and, even with a more imposing actor, did not provoke enough fear. Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by the 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall.
 
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alko said:
Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the Predator with the intent that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the Predator an agile, ninja-like hunter. But when the 5'9" Van Damme was compared to Schwarzenegger, Weathers, and Ventura — actors over 6 feet tall and known for their bodybuilding regimens — it became apparent a more physically imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Additionally, it was reported that Van Damme constantly complained about the monster suit being too hot and causing him to pass out. He allegedly had also repeatedly voiced reservations about only appearing on camera in the suit. Additionally, the original design for the Predator was felt to be too cumbersome and difficult to manage in the jungle and, even with a more imposing actor, did not provoke enough fear. Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by the 7'2" Kevin Peter Hall.
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Van damme was also pissed when he found out that he would be in costume all the time. It sounds like his agent suggested thst there would be scene explaining that the preditor used to be a man or something
 
One of my pet peeves with recasts is when people think that a certain actor that was originally cast/offered a role and doesn't end up playing the part, or when the original cast member passes away, then they go off on how the person who ended up playing the role was the best choice, or the person who died would have been better than who was eventually cast.

Take Indiana Jones and Shrek.

When Tom Selleck was originally cast as Indiana Jones and ended up dropping out due to scheduling conflicts with Magnum PI, everyone was saying that was a good thing and that they couldn't imagine anyone but Harrison Ford playing the part. C'mon, you all would be saying the same thing even if the roles were reversed.

Also, controversial opinion, but apparently Nick Nolte was also offered the role of Jones, and I think he would have been better than Ford.

Then you have Shrek. The original role for the title character was meant to be Chris Farley, but he tragically died before producing. Then a YT video came out with him and Eddie Murphy reading lines for their parts. And everyone was saying how much better Farley would have been over Mike Myers. Sorry, and no disrespect to the late Chris Farley, but I watched the video and there is no way he sounded better than Myers. He was good, but Myers was phenomenal and it sucked to learn that he got the role as a result of such tragic circumstances.
 
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KallioWeHardlyKnewYe said:
One that seems wild now but actually makes a lot of sense when you stop to think is that Total Recall was originally intended for ... Richard Dreyfus. The original concept wasn't as action packed as it became with Arnold and having a less obvious more unassuming actor in the lead role really does make more sense in the sort of story of an everyman haunted by dreams of Mars and possibly a double life. Quaid originally was an office drone, not a construction worker.

Of course they end up going with Arnold and it becomes less thinky and more beefy and, frankly, COMPLETELY f***ING AWESOME.
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I haven't seen the Total Recall remake. Is it anything like that earlier concept? I'd actually be interested in watching that.
 
End on a Hinote said:
One of my pet peeves with recasts is when people think that a certain actor that was originally cast/offered a role and doesn't end up playing the part, or when the original cast member passes away, then they go off on how the person who ended up playing the role was the best choice, or the person who died would have been better than who was eventually cast.

Take Indiana Jones and Shrek.

When Tom Selleck was originally cast as Indiana Jones and ended up dropping out due to scheduling conflicts with Magnum PI, everyone was saying that was a good thing and that they couldn't imagine anyone but Harrison Ford playing the part. C'mon, you all would be saying the same thing even if the roles were reversed.

Also, controversial opinion, but apparently Nick Nolte was also offered the role of Jones, and I think he would have been better than Ford.

Then you have Shrek. The original role for the title character was meant to be Chris Farley, but he tragically died before producing. Then a YT video came out with him and Eddie Murphy reading lines for their parts. And everyone was saying how much better Farley would have been over Mike Myers. Sorry, and no disrespect to the late Chris Farley, but I watched the video and there is no way he sounded better than Myers. He was good, but Myers was phenomenal and it sucked to learn that he got the role as a result of such tragic circumstances.
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there was no conflict. Selleck had shot the pilot of Magnum PI and then got cast as Jones. HE could have shot Raiders of the lost Ark as there was a TV actors strike. It has been pointed out the Tom Selleck was in his right to shoot Raiders due to the fact that at the time there were two different contract for TV roles and movie roles. About 10 years later it all merged. Selleck just decided to stay in Hawaii and wait out the strike and surf and have fun with his then wife
 
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Rocky

After repeated negotiations with Rumar and Kubik, Winkler-Chartoff agreed to a contract for Stallone to be the writer and also star in the lead role for Rocky.

United Artists liked Stallone's script and viewed it as a vehicle for a well-established star like Robert Redford, Ryan O'Neal, Burt Reynolds, or James Caan. Stallone's agents insisted that Stallone portray the title character, to the point of issuing an ultimatum. Stallone later said that he would never have forgiven himself had the film become a success with somebody else in the lead.

Real-life boxer Ken Norton was initially sought for the role of Apollo Creed, but he pulled out and the role was ultimately given to Carl Weathers. Norton, upon whom Creed was loosely based, fought Muhammad Ali three times. According to The Rocky Scrapbook, Carrie Snodgress was originally chosen to play Adrian, but a money dispute forced the producers to look elsewhere. Susan Sarandon and Cher auditioned for the role but Sarandon was deemed too pretty for the character and Cher too expensive.
 
I don't know if this is true or not as I never heard it before but supposedly when Oliver Stone wrote the script for the movie Platoon, he wanted Jim Morrison of the Doors to be the lead that many years later would end up being Charlie Sheen's part. He wrote it in '68 and when Morrison "died" in '71 he had the script in his apartment.

Not an actor but before David Lynch did Dune, they tried to make it into a movie in the '70's and they had Pink Floyd signed on to do the soundtrack. As a big fan of both Dune and Pink Floyd that would have been epic.
 
montreal said:
I don't know if this is true or not as I never heard it before but supposedly when Oliver Stone wrote the script for the movie Platoon, he wanted Jim Morrison of the Doors to be the lead that many years later would end up being Charlie Sheen's part. He wrote it in '68 and when Morrison "died" in '71 he had the script in his apartment.

Not an actor but before David Lynch did Dune, they tried to make it into a movie in the '70's and they had Pink Floyd signed on to do the soundtrack. As a big fan of both Dune and Pink Floyd that would have been epic.
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Stone keep changing his start date for writing the Script for Platoon. He first said he started writing it in 73, but morisson died in 71. Other times he said he began writing the script his final year at at NYU which he graduated in June 71. Morrison died in April. Stone wrote and directed a short movie called Last Year in Vietnam in late 71 and I think that gave him the idea for Platoon
 
BTW

About that long list for McQueen. Did some searching and in most cases they were scripts sent to him that he never actually read. From about 1974 till his death in 1980. The three movies he did, he was directly involved in many aspects of the movies and that is why he did them. In his last movie Hunter(80) Director Buzz Kulik admitted that he had problem shooting the actions scenes and McQueen directed those scenes as agreed upon when McQueen approached the production after Lee Marvin turned it down. Enemy of the state was his pet project from the word go. With Tom Horn, McQueen had complete control over the movie and ended up sacking 5 directors during its filming. McQueen spent 3 years researching the Horn before shooting had started
 
Jumptheshark said:
Stone keep changing his start date for writing the Script for Platoon. He first said he started writing it in 73, but morisson died in 71. Other times he said he began writing the script his final year at at NYU which he graduated in June 71. Morrison died in April. Stone wrote and directed a short movie called Last Year in Vietnam in late 71 and I think that gave him the idea for Platoon
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coffeeordie.com

5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know: ‘Platoon’

Here's five things you probably didn't know about 'Platoon.'
coffeeordie.com coffeeordie.com
 
montreal said:
coffeeordie.com

5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know: ‘Platoon’

Here's five things you probably didn't know about 'Platoon.'
coffeeordie.com coffeeordie.com
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That is where Stone's memory plays games with him. While Stone did find away to get a version of the script to Morisson, the envelope it was found it was never opened and was not called Platoon at the time and looked completely(I think it was called the soldier at the time) different from the final one we saw. Stone had not even made a movie yet and would not make his first full length movie for 4 years. The Morisson falls in line with many of the McQueen movie list. He had the scrip sent to him,

Now why Stone had never made a movie of HOW he kid from NYU got his script to Morisson is a hilarious story of the version that Stone tells is true.(his drug dealer knew how to get the script Morisson in Paris) Stone has not idea if Morisson every actually read it
 
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