Sometimes what's more interesting than the movie roles we love, are the movie roles that could have been.
Did you know that Bill Murray was the first Choice to play Batman in the 1989 Tim Burton movie? Or that Will Smith could have played Neo in The Matrix?
How about that New Line Cinema really wanted Sean Connery to star as Gandalf?
When Lord of the Rings was in development, the studio was seeking a big name star to offset the gigantic risk of filming three very expensive films back-to-back, with no guarantee of their box office success.
Connery was offered $6 million per picture. But what we didn't know is that he was offered 15% of the Box Office as well, a deal that would have earned him $450 million!
The man who made James Bond a household name apparently didn't understand the script. Connery claims, "I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it. Ian McKellen, I believe, is marvelous in it."
Can you imagine Sean Connery as Gandalf? Or are you happy he turned it down and McKellen stepped in?