Leonardo DiCaprio arrives at the screening of “Killers of the Flower Moon” during the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023 in Cannes, France. The festival takes place from May 16th to 27th. (Cinema, France) EFE/EPA/GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO
Building a career in Hollywood isn't easy. Even one bad choice can get you left off the list of top-grossing actors
Building a career in Hollywood isn't easy. Even one bad choice can get you left off the list of top-grossing actors. Therefore, before making any proposal, the entertainment industry's top stars take the time to consider not only the significance of the character, but also the genre, story, director, locations and cast of the project in question. These ten actors were on the verge of turning down characters that would become milestones in their careers, but luckily they reconsidered in time.
From The National
Leonardo DiCaprio and the doubts about Jack Dawson
Without a doubt, “Titanic” is a crucial film in the careers of its protagonists Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. In addition, for decades it was considered the highest-grossing film at the box office. However, the Wolf of Wall Street actor refused to play the heroic Jack Dawson until the last minute.
DiCaprio thought the project was “boring.” “I had to convince him that it was actually a difficult challenge. He didn't want to play the lead. I really had to twist his arm to get him to accept,” the film's director, James Cameron, revealed some time ago.
Arnold Schwarzenegger. | Photo: Cotesia
Arnold Schwarzenegger and his doubts about Terminator
Long before he convinced DiCaprio, Cameron was confronted with Arnold Schwarzenegger's refusal to take part in The Terminator. When the director first met with the actor to offer him the lead role, he said to him: “There is no one who can understand and interpret this character better than you.” However, at least in this case, he did not succeed, to convince him. “Excuse me, but I don't want to go back in my career… This guy only says like 27 lines in the whole movie,” he apologized.
Then a confident Cameron told him the line that finally convinced him. “'Believe me: I'm going to adapt the character so that you're not only the number one villain you've ever seen, but also the number one hero.'” And he delivered, as the success of the first part made possible the “return” of the character, but this time as an absolute hero.
American actor Chris Evans. EFE/HANNAH MCKAY/File
Chris Evans and his rejection of Captain America
When Marvel offered him a screen test for a lead role in Captain America: The First Avenger, Chris Evans declined. Some time ago I started having panic attacks on set and felt that it wasn't a good idea to go for an audition at that time.
However, the studio was convinced that he was the one who needed to bring Captain America to life and eventually offered him the role outright. Then the actor began therapy and with the support of his family and colleague Robert Downey Jr., he reconsidered and realized that he could no longer make decisions based on the fear of new attacks.
Read more in El Nacional