YOU SAID ‘NO’ TO WHAT?! ONE STAR’S TRASH IS ANOTHER’S TREASURE

“And for her portrayal of Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos, the Academy Award goes to ... Cate Blanchett!”

Wait, what? Yes, if the planets had aligned differently, Cate the Great would have worn the red wig instead of our Nic and be the frontrunner for this year’s Best Actress Oscar. Months before Kidman nailed the role, despite hesitation to her casting, Blanchett left the movie citing “scheduling conflicts”, while mysteriously adding: “It became the movie it needed to be.” Juicy, right?

Being a total movie nerd, this got me wondering what other huge stars turned leftovers into a feast of fame. Let’s deep dive!

Picture this: in The Silence of the Lambs, as Agent Clarice Starling ventures towards Hannibal Lecter’s dungeon cell, he slowly turns around and it’s … Gene Hackman?! And instead of Jodie Foster, Hannibal greets Michelle Pfeiffer or possibly Meg Ryan? All three stars thought the project was too creepy, leaving the door wide open for Sir Anthony Hopkins to win his first Oscar and Foster her second.

The Matrix also turned out to be a missed opportunity for two megahunks! In 1999, Keanu Reeves hadn’t had a hit since Speed. So when the sci-fi script landed in his lap, he was ready. Trouble is, so were Brad Pitt and Will Smith! After several meetings, both guys said they just didn’t understand it. Also passing on the female lead was ... Madonna! Given Madge has been dubbed a “movie killer”, it was probably just as well. An unknown Carrie-anne Moss ended up making cinematic history dodging bullets with Keanu.

Other “no thank yous” that deserve special mention include Woody Harrelson as Jerry Maguire, Claire Danes as Titanic’s Rose and Leonardo Dicaprio in Boogie Nights.

So does knowing certain stars got another’s hand-medowns change the way we adore or watch these films? Not for me! As my mum always said: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Just another instance where Mrs Reid was always right.

Follow Richard on Instagram @the_richardreid and Twitter @Rreidshollywood