The casting decisions that changed movie history -.

There are, of course, many things that must fall into place to make a film or TV series a timeless classic and a pop culture phenomenon. One of those things, of course, is the actors. It’s almost hard to imagine anyone other than Sylvester Stallone as Rambo, Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones or Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley. It would have immediately become something very different, and most likely worse.

Of course, it is difficult to get these perfect casts, and the fact is that it could have been very different. Countless of those we now consider obvious roles are not actually the first choice, but had someone very different in mind from the beginning. Fortunately, that didn’t happen, but here are some examples of how things could have gone

Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly (Back to the Future)

Michael J. Fox playing Marty McFly is now as clear as the earth being round, but the fact is he didn’t get the role, it went instead to Eric Stoltz and filming began. But Stoltz lacked comedic timing and after a month the production realized it wasn’t quite working. Michael J. Fox was cast instead and the rest is history.

Frank Sinatra as John McClane (Die Hard)

As you may know, the movie Die Hard is based on the novel Nothing Lasts Forever, in which Gruber takes control of a Los Angeles skyscraper at Christmas time. However, it was book number two in the series, the first of which was called The Detective. It had been filmed long before with Frank Sinatra in the lead role, and when it came time for Die Hard, Sinatra was asked if he would like to star here as well. He did not, and the production looked for someone more hard-boiled for the role, such as Al Pacino, James Caan or Paul Newman. Willis, best known for his romcom Moonlighting, was at the very bottom of the list – but eventually got the part – which is just as well, because chances are we never would have learned to love the phrase Yippee ki-yay otherwise.

Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio or Will Smith as Neo (Matrix)

If the film crew had had their way, Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio would have played Neo in The Matrix. And it almost happened, as both actors initially said yes. But for various reasons they dropped out (Brad was tired after the flop of Seven Years in Tibet and Leo didn’t want to do another special effects fest after Titanic). Will Smith also got the chance to play Neo, but turned it down, and Keanu Reeves luckily got the chance to make movie history.

Tom Selleck as Indiana Jones (Raiders of the Lost Ark)

Perhaps the most iconic name on the list, Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, was not actually the first choice when Stephen Spielberg began filming Raiders of the Lost Ark. Instead, it was Tom “Magnum P.I.” Selleck, who was also interested. But he was busy with his successful TV series, which he could not drop, and scheduling conflicts could not be resolved. Instead, it was Ford’s turn, and probably no one at all is mourning because of that.

Al Pacino as Han Solo (Star Wars: A New Hope)

George Lucas had worked with Harrison Ford before, but for the role of Han Solo, it was not Ford he had in mind. Initially, the role went to Al Pacino, who later said in interviews that he got so much money but did not understand the script. He has also said he gave Ford a career this way. We all agree that Pacino is a phenomenal actor, but would Star Wars be what it is today without Harrison Ford’s reluctantly good-hearted smuggler? It’s debatable…

Nicolas Cage or Russell Crowe as Aragorn (Under the spell of the ring)

Viggo Mortensen certainly seemed cut out for the role of Aragorn, but the fact was that Peter Jackson and the gang had several other heavyweights in mind beforehand. One of them was Nicolas Cage, but for personal reasons he found it difficult to go to New Zealand for years, so he turned it down. Russell Crowe was also asked, but Crowe has since said he did not feel wholeheartedly sold on it on Jackson’s part, so he turned it down as well.

John Travolta as Forrest Gump (Forrest Gump)

We can thank Quentin Tarantino for giving Tom Hanks the chance to really make movie history with Forrest Gump in 1994, since director Robert Zemeckis wanted Travolta to play the lead, but he was too busy filming Pulp Fiction. So Tom Hanks got the role instead. Ironically, both Travolta and Hanks were nominated for this year’s Academy Award for Best Actor, with the latter winning for the role Travolta turned down.

Sean Connery as Gandalf (In the Ban of the Ring)

Perhaps the best acting performance in the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy was given by Ian McKellen as Gandalf. But before he got it, the idea was that Sean Connery would play the fantasy wizard instead. The old Mi5 cop with the right to kill didn’t quite understand and rejected it, and didn’t seem to be bitter about it. In typical British fashion, the late Mr. Connery said he still hadn’t been able to top McKellen’s fantastic performance.

Mel Gibson as Maximus (gladiator)

One of the most iconic performances of all time for me is Russell Crowe as the gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius, which helped make the film one of my favorites. But Ridley Scott originally planned for Mel Gibson to play the lead role and talks began. However, Gibson was 43 at the time and thought he was too old, which is fair enough. So New Zealander Crowe was allowed to play Maximus instead, and movie history was made.