Million dollar mistakes: Movie roles that stars turned down

Million dollar mistakes: Movie roles that stars turned down

These career-making roles could have been another notch on these A-lister's belts. Take a look at the hugely popular movie roles these stars decided to pass on. Before Angelina Jolie stepped foot on the set of 'Salt,' the title character of the spy thriller had to undergo a gender change. Tom Cruise was originally slated to play the role of Edwin A. Salt, a CIA officer who's accused of being a Russian sleeper spy. However when Jolie caught wind of the script, she took a liking to it which prompted the studio to rewrite the lead role. In the end, the role of Evelyn Salt was born.

He showed off his fancy footwork in "Risky Business," but Tom Cruise apparently declined the lead role (which went to Kevin Bacon) in "Footloose." The actor has also passed on parts in "The Talented Mr. Ripley," "Enemy of the State" and "Cold Mountain

Though Will Smith has had his fair share of acting in sci-fi thrillers, he turned down the role of Neo in the box office hit “The Matrix.” The actor, who opted to star in the movie flop, “Wild Wild West,” admits he couldn't have pulled off the lead role. He says, “You know, 'The Matrix' is a difficult concept to pitch. In the pitch, I just didn’t see it. I watched Keanu’s performance – and very rarely do I say this – but I would have messed it up

Daniel Day-Lewis' role as Guido Contini in the musical "Nine" could have been Penelope Cruz's beau, Javier Bardem, according to Variety. The "No Country for Old Men' star was originally offered the role of the famous film director, who experiences personal and creative crisis while trying to balance all the women in his life, but dropped out of the project stating he was exhausted from work and awards season.

Just one day before shooting was set to begin, Ryan Gosling stepped down from the role of Jack Salmon in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation of "The Lovely Bones." Luckily, with only a few days notice, Mark Wahlberg was able to step in and replace Gosling, who had already gained 20 pounds and grown a beard for the part. According to Variety.com, sources attribute Gosling's exit to creative differences.

Anne Hathaway may play the White Queen in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland," but she could have starred as Alice if she had wanted to. Despite being offered the leading role, Hathaway turned it down because she was sick of playing a "pretty girl in a fairy dress."The actress told Britain's GQ magazine, "The studio had the Alice script a long time ago and I was approached back then for the part of Alice. I considered it, but felt, what with The Princess Diaries, that I had been there, done that sort of pretty-girl-in-a-fairy-dress role. I told the studio, however, that if they found a director eventually, that I would be interested at a later date in playing the White Queen

Academy Award-winning actress Helen Mirren was originally offered the role of social worker Mrs. Weiss in Lee Daniel’s "Precious." But when Mirren had to pull out of the project for unknown reasons, it was Mariah Carey who took her place just days before shooting began.The performance gave new life to Carey's acting career. The singer, once deemed a horrible actress for her disastrous film "Glitter," wowed critics with her powerful performance in "Precious."

"The Blind Side" star Sandra Bullock has been having the best year of her life, winning the award for Best Actress as the SAG Awards, the Golden Globes and the Oscars. But Bullock's amazing year almost didn't happen. Julia Robert was initially eyed to star in the film, but luckily for Sandra, the actress turned down the role.

Matt Damon could have had the lead role in the highest-grossing movie ever. But he turned down going blue for James Cameron's "Avatar" due to scheduling conflicts with "The Bourne Ultimatum." "Clearly my not participating cost the film a lot," Damon joked. While the role went to unknown Aussie actor Sam Worthington, it could also have been played by

Jake Gyllenhaal, who was another one of Cameron's top picks for the role of Jake Sully. Ah, what might have been ...

Talk about a huge regret! Lindsay Lohan surprisingly turned down Heather Graham's role in the blockbuster hit, 'The Hangover.' Despite having her agent reportedly campaign for her to get the role, the rehabbed actress ultimately passed on the offer because she thought the script 'had no potential.' Sadly, the same can be said for LiLo's film career.

While most guys drooled over the sight of Scarlett Johannson kicking butt in a skin-tight body suit in 'Iron Man 2,' the role of Black Widow originally belonged to Emily Blunt. Due to scheduling conflicts with her film 'Gulliver's Travels,' the British actress had to opt out of the superhero film.