Getting cast in a movie is no guarantee that you’ll be in the film — just ask these actors!
Whether they were too demanding on set, couldn’t play well with others, or simply not what the director envisioned, they were given the boot during filming.
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This has certainly left an awkward gap in their resumes!
1. Kevin Spacey – *All the Money in the World*
The actor was originally cast as oil tycoon J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World .
The studio ended up cutting all ties with the actor in the wake of the sexual assault allegations against him by Anthony Rapp.
This led director Ridley Scott to bring in Christopher Plummer to replace all of Kevin’s scenes.
He was nominated for an Oscar over the role.
Spacey was also fired from House of Cards and Netflix cut production on his film Gore .
2. Kel O’Neill – *There Will Be Blood*
While there have been rumors that he was fired a few weeks into filming for being intimated by the other actors, that’s not the case.
He told Vulture that he simply wasn’t jibing well with the film’s director, Paul Thomas Anderson.
3. Ashton Kutcher – *Elizabethtown*
Since the director originally wanted Orlando Bloom for the lead male role, he was doomed from the start.
“I probably wasn’t disciplined enough as an actor to get myself to a point where I was able to do that and show it to him in a way that he felt comfortable,” he shared on an episode of Hot Ones.
4. Ryan Gosling – *The Lovely Bones*
Ryan Gosling made the wrong call to gain 60 pounds to play the dad, Jack Solomon, in The Lovely Bones .
“I just showed up on set, and I had gotten it wrong,” Gosling said . “Then I was fat and unemployed.”
5. Julianne Moore – Will You Ever Forgive Me?
“Creative differences” got in the way of the actress starring in the Oscar-nominated film.
This was between her and writer, Nicole Holofcener. “I didn’t leave that movie, I was fired,” Moore told Andy Cohen in 2019.
“Nicole fired me. So yeah, that’s the truth. I think she didn’t like what I was doing,” she continued.
In the end, she was replaced with actress Melissa McCarthy, who was nominated for an Oscar.
6. Richard Gere – *The Lords of Flatbush*
Tensions on set between Gere and Sylvester Stallone led to Gere’s dismissal from the film.
“He would strut around in his oversized motorcycle jacket like he was the baddest knight at the round table,” Stallone said in an interview with Aint It Cool
One particular blow-up was the final straw for Gere.
When Richard ate chicken with mustard, some of it got on Stallone’s pants.
“I elbowed him in the side of the head and basically pushed him out of the car. The director had to make a choice: one of us had to go, one of us had to stay.”
7. Eric Stoltz – *Back to the Future*
We were so close to having Eric as the film’s lead and not Michael J Fox.
Director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale ended up firing him because he was too serious and method, only answering to “Marty” on set.
8. Edward Norton – *The Hulk*
Yep, he was the original Hulk! But he got fired for being too controlling on set.
His firing led to a huge battle against Marvel, as he called them “mean-spirited, unprofessional, disingenuous, and clearly defamatory.”
9. Colin Firth – *Paddington*
The actor put in a lot of work voicing the famous bear. He finished recording all his lines when producers fired him for sounding too mature.
In the end, he was replaced by Ben Whishaw.
10. Jean-Claude Van Damme – *Predator*
Get this: the French actor was fired over his love of kickboxing.
He wanted his character ” to be a kickboxer alien from outer space, ” but producer Joel Silver wasn’t keen on the idea. He also reportedly broke a $20,000 Predator head.
11. James Remar – *Aliens*
The Sex and the City actor was fired one week into playing Corporal Dwayne Hicks.
Years later, he admitted to a drug problem, revealing that he was fired over his arrest of illegal drug possession.
12. James Purefoy – *V for Vendetta*
He was cast as the masked anarchist but ended up being replaced six weeks into filming. That’s because he hated wearing the mask.
“Wearing that thing takes… a lot of takes,” he explained at the time. Spider-Man’s mask comes off. Batman’s mask comes off. Even the elephant man had eyes. That’s all I ask for, just an eye!”
13. Lori Petty – *Demolition Man*
We can thank the actress for giving Sandra Bullock her breakout role.
She was originally cast as Lieutenant Lenina Huxley opposite Sylvester Stallone but ended up getting fired three days into filming for voicing complaints about the character.
14. Nicole Kidman – *Panic Room*
An unfortunate incident led to the actress’s dismissal from set.
She was 18 days into filming when she injured her knee for the second time (the first was during Moulin Rouge !). This led the studio to replace her with Jodie Foster.
15. Judy Garland – *Valley of the Dolls*
Barbara Parkins told Windy City Times that she was nervous to work with Garland, who was apparently drunk and refused to come out of her dressing room.
This led to her getting the boot just a few days into filming.
16. Natalie Portman – *Romeo + Juliet*
The actress was only 13 when she was cast as Juliet opposite Leonardo Dicaprio, who was 21 at the time.
This made it too weird for her to kiss the actor. “It wasn’t appropriate in the eyes of the film company or the director, Baz,” Natalie told the New York Times .
17. Harvey Keitel – *Apocalypse Now*
Harvey Keitel was originally cast to play Benjamin Willard in the epic Vietnam War film, Apocalypse Now .
Infamously eccentric director Francis Ford Copolla fired Harvey six weeks into filming because he desired a more introspective performance from his lead.
18. Robert Downey Jr. – *Gravity*
Robert Downey Jr. was replaced as the lead in Gravity due to technical difficulties. Ironically enough, RDJ just couldn’t get his head around the advanced tech required for filming.
Strange, considering his career-defining role was playing Tony Stark in Iron Man .
19. Megan Fox – *Transformers: Dark Of The Moon*
When Megan was first beginning her acting career, she was headstrong and stubborn.
She clashed heavily with the director Michael Bay on set and made her distasteful feelings toward him known during an interview with Wonderland .
During her frank conversation, Megan compared Michael Bay to Adolf Hitler.
Megan’s comments did not sit well with the film’s executive producer/Hollywood legend, Steven Spielberg.
According to an interview that Michael gave with GQ Magazine , it was Steven who made the ultimate decision to fire Megan.
20. Samantha Morton – *Her*
Samantha Morton recorded all of her lines as the AI love interest of Joaquin Phoenix, but in post-production , Spike Jonze decided that her voice just wasn’t right.
Her lines were cut from the film and Scarlett Johansson was brought in to re-record the part.
21. Stuart Townsend – *The Lord Of The Rings*
Could you imagine seeing Stuart Townsend as Aragorn? It very nearly happened.
But after just a few short days on set, Peter Jackson decided that Stuart looked much too young to play the part.
22. Anne Hathaway – *Knocked Up*
You should always read a script thoroughly before accepting a role, you never know what might pop up (or out) otherwise.
Anne wasn’t exactly thrilled when she learned about having to do a nude birthing scene . She held firm in her refusal, and Judd Apatow recast her.
21. Christian Bale – *American Psycho*
Let it be known to all aspiring young actors that you can do anything in Hollywood if you set your mind to it.
That is unless Leonardo DiCaprio decides that he wants to do it first.
Once Leo got wind of the project, Christian was quickly fired.
As a true testament to his determination, Christian didn’t let his unfortunate circumstances dissuade him one bit.
He continued to train and sculpt his body in preparation for the film as if nothing had happened. When Leo bowed out, Christian was rehired.
22. Terrence Howard – *Iron Man 2*
Many fans will likely find this interesting bit of trivia hard to believe, but Terrence Howard actually made more money than Robert Downey Jr. for the first Iron Man film — a whole lot more, in fact.
Terrence’s payday was upwards of $3 million, whereas RDJ was paid a mere $500,000.
According to director Jon Favreau, Howard was incredibly difficult to work with while filming.
Add to that his ever-increasing salary demands ; the actor simply became too much for the studio to deal with.
23. Bruce Willis – *The Expendables 3*
No one was happier to see Bruce Willis walk off the set of The Expendables 3 than Sylvester Stallone. For years, rumors had swirled about on-set feuds between Sly and Willis.
Then, when Bruce refused to budge on his salary demands, he was fired.
24. Chloë Grace Moretz – *Bolt*
Technically, Chloë does appear in the film but her part was drastically reduced and part recast.
At that time, the producers felt that Miley Cyrus would be more well-received by American audiences since she’d already built a strong Disney following
25. Holly Hunter – *Chicken Little*
The original idea for Chicken Little was to make the title character a girl .
Not long after Holly was cast, the studio decided to go in a different direction and replaced Holly with Scrubs star Zach Braff.
26. Sylvester Stallone – *Beverly Hills Cop*
Before Eddie Murphy came into the picture, Sylvester Stallone was offered the lead role in the decade-defining action/comedy Beverly Hills Cop .
After taking the script home, Sly arrived on set the next day and had completely re-written everything. His notes were not appreciated.
27. Bruce Willis…again
I love Bruce Willis but clearly, the guy is a difficult man to work with.
Most recently, he was fired by the iconic and controversial Woody Allen for allegedly not being able to remember any of his lines.
