16 Iconic Film Roles That Almost Went to Someone Else Inline

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    Tom Hanks almost played Harry Burns in When Harry Met Sally . . .

    During an interview for the rom-com’s 25th anniversary, director Rob Reiner revealed that he talked to Tom Hanks about possibly starring in When Harry Met Sally . . . alongside Meg Ryan (four years before they became costars in Sleepless in Seattle). Ultimately, Reiner went with Billy Crystal, saying, “Meg and Billy hit it off right away.”

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    Reese Witherspoon almost played Cher Horowitz in Clueless

    While writer and director Amy Heckerling wanted Alicia Silverstone to play Cher Horowitz from the beginning, the studio made her audition a lot of other actresses for the role, including Alicia Witt, Tiffani Thiessen, Keri Russell, and a then–virtually unknown Reese Witherspoon.

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    Michelle Pfeiffer almost played Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs

    Jodie Foster won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs, but she wasn’t director Jonathan Demme’s first choice. Demme actually wanted to cast Michelle Pfeiffer, the star of his previous film, Married to the Mob, but the actress turned down the opportunity because she thought the movie was too violent.

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    Photos: (from left) Getty Images; Courtesy of AMC
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    Thomas Jane almost played Don Draper in Mad Men

    Jon Hamm catapulted to fame after being cast as the one and only Don Draper. Even though his strong chin and classic good looks made him a perfect fit for the role, Hamm admitted on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast that AMC initially offered the part to someone else. “The funny thing was, I think they went to Thomas Jane for it, and they were told that Thomas Jane does not do television,” he said. “[He s] now starring in Hung, by the way.”

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    Photos: (from left) Alamy; Courtesy of HBO
    5/16

    Dana Delany almost played Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City

    Before Sarah Jessica Parker landed the role of a lifetime as Sex and the City’s inimitable Carrie Bradshaw, creator Darren Star offered the part to his friend Dana Delany. Lucky for us, Delany rejected the role because, according to her, she “had already done too many movies about sex.”