10 actors who were rejected from a project for absurd reasons 

Hollywood casting is known for being messy. People are rejected on a daily basis for some totally absurd reasons. While in the end it all works out and both parties solve their issues, it sure is fun reading about these insane incidents. If you are a pop culture enthusiast and love keeping up with unique news about celebrities, you might find it interesting to read about actors who were refused certain projects for absurd reasons.

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10 actors who were rejected from a project for absurd reasons

1) Michael Jackson – Turned down because he refused to let them use CGI on his face.

Michael Jackson was turned down for the role of Jar Jar Binks in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace because he wanted to use prosthetics instead of having his face edited via CGI. George Lucas, the director, was very driven in his aspiration to use CGI and thus passed over this iconic pop star.

Passing over Michael Jackson just for creative differences might seem stupid to many people, but the director was set in his ways. They both could have sat and worked it out, probably reached a middle ground, but it seems like it wasn’t written in the stars to have Michael Jackson as a part of this legendary movie franchise.

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2) Scarlett Johansson – Told she was too sexy for the role.

Before the role of Rooney Mara in the movie - The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo went to Lisbeth Salander, actress Scarlett Johansson was actually under consideration. She was keen on the role but Director David Fincher rejected her on the grounds of being “too sexy.”

He was hoping for a more subdued character who would be ambiguous at first and then grow on the audience emotionally, but Scarlett Johansson was not it. She was more enigmatic and, in his words, someone who would distract the audience from the plot. In a profession where women’s aesthetic appeal is prioritised, this reason seemed kind of absurd.

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3) Robin Williams – Rejected simply because… he wasn’t British.

Robin Williams was very keen on being a part of the Harry Potter Films. He tried auditioning for the roles of both Hagrid and Remus Lupin, but was rejected because the casting directors were adamant on only casting British Actors. They felt that even if Robin Williams could catch up on the accent, genuine cultural authenticity would still be missing and hence he was refused for the role.

It is a fact well known, that Robin Williams is a master of comedy and with his diverse emotional range, can make any character his own, thus passing up on a talent like him was a dicey move from the side of the producers.

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4) Harry Styles – Passed on with the explanation: “Because you’re Harry Styles.”

Solo Artist and Former member of the band One Direction - Harry Styles has expanded his career from music to acting. He has worked in quite a lot of movies, like - Dunkirk, Don’t Worry Darling, My Policeman and others. Thus his command on acting has been well known over the years.

It has been reported that this singing sensation was very keen on landing the role of Elvis Presley in his biopic, before it went to Actor Austin Butler. The reason given by director Ban Luhrmann for rejecting Harry Styles was that “he is Harry Styles.” In his mind, he was a star, someone with a lot of celebrity buzz attached to them, and thus would overshadow the movie itself. Now this might sound absurd because Harry Styles icon status could have been used to prompt the film, but then the ultimate decision power rests with the director.

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5) Chris Pine – Lost out due to having acne at the time.

Chris Pine, now an actor known for his sharp looks, was once rejected for a role in the TV series - The O.C., because he had an acne outbreak then. His acting was impressive, everything about him checked the list, but the casting director, Patrick Rush, couldn’t look past his acne issue. It was something beyond his control, and Chris Pine went on to say how it was very heartbreaking for him to receive rejection over that issue, and it even gave him “a little bit of PTSD."

While the reason may be absurd, one cannot even blame the casting director because teenage shows demanded physically perfect male leads, and despite having makeup solutions, it wouldn’t have been a feasible solution for a long-running television show.

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6) Catherine Zeta-Jones – Labeled “too old” for a part… at 19 years old.

Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones at the start of her journey was rejected for a role in the musical - Aspects of Love. In the audition, Andrew Lloyd and Trevor Nunn passed her over because, apparently, she was too old at 19. Ageism has been a controversial topic in Hollywood for a long time, and labelling a 19-year-old as being too old was sheer absurdity. It just reflects how superficial the beauty standards are in Hollywood.

Of course, despite the setbacks early in her career, Catherine Zeta-Jones went on to find immense success not only in theatre but also in movies and now even at 55, works in a number of projects, including the trending Netflix gothic show - Wednesday.

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7) Zoe Kravitz – Dismissed for being “too urban.”

Zoe Kravitz when auditioning for a role in the movie The Dark Knight, was rejected on the grounds of being “too urban.” The Dark Knight, set in Gotham City is the epicentre of urbanism, and being denied on the same grounds seems too contradictory. Ignoring the great skills and unparalleled craft of an actress, that too for a small role, and rejecting her on the grounds of her looks is an outdated norm still subtly prevailing in the industry.

In fact in the latest Batman movie, she goes on to play Catwoman and wins over the audience with her brilliant performance which no doubt the earlier movie missed out on.

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8) Maggie Gyllenhaal – Branded “too old” at 37 to star opposite a 55-year-old man.

In an interview, Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal shared that while auditioning for a project at the age of 37, opposite a 55-year-old man, she was rejected on the grounds of being “too old.”

Many actresses have spoken up on this issue and called it out for being outrageous and absurd. Maggie Gyllenhaal is talented and has won several accolades for her remarkable performances; thus, getting rejected due to such a petty reason truly wasn’t fair to her.

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9) Elle Fanning – Rejected for not having enough Instagram followers.

Actress Elle Fanning, in her appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, revealed that she was auditioning for a role in a big franchise that was centred around a father-daughter comedy. She was really interested in getting the role but was rejected on the grounds that she “didn’t have enough Instagram followers.”

This is one of the most absurd reasons to reject someone from a casting. While social media platform helps boost the popularity of celebrities, many find success without them too. Many famous actors don’t even own a social media account and still continue to enjoy unparalleled popularity and deliver consistent great performances, for example - Cillian Murphy. This rejection faced by Elle Fanning shows how some production houses simply favour marketing over talent.

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10) Nia Long – Passed over for being “too sophisticated.”

It is a fact well known that Nia Long was interested in playing the role of Alex Munday in the 2000 movie - Charlie’s Angels. Recently, she revealed that after auditioning for the role, she was rejected for being “too sophisticated.”

Reducing the versatility of an actress to her looks and clothes, and deeming it to be sophistication, and then rejecting her on those grounds, is as absurd as it gets in this industry. While she later commented that it was a meek and polite way of showing racial bias, one cannot deny that having her in the movie would have been a bold choice and made it even popular.