17 times actors had their roles cut or were replaced from movies

Modified Dec 17, 2024 07:26 ET

"Babylon" Global Premiere Screening - Arrivals - Source: Getty — Tobey Maguire was replaced in Life of Pi (Image via Getty)

5. A Whole Bunch of People – The Thin Red Line

Bill Pullman, Mickey Rourke, Gary Oldman and Martin Sheen are among a bunch of stars who ended up with a total screen time of zero after one of Hollywood's most infamous episodes of cuts, in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line (1998), where the director chopped entire portions of their contributions. Adrien Brody, cast as a front-runner, was given just about a dozen lines while George Clooney, a top star at the time, was left with barely a minute's appearance in the film after cuts. The focus of the filmmaker seemed more on visuals and the cinematic atmosphere than on characters. Although the final product received critical acclaim, most of the actors were surprised by their exclusion, noting Malick's unusual approach to filmmaking.