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Holly Hunter - The main character in the animated film 'Chicken Little' was actually meant to be female. Hunter took months to voice the character. According to the Screen Rant, the production team later decided that the character should be male and Hunter's work was replaced by Zach Braff.

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Lisa Kudrow -

Lisa Kudrow revealed that she experienced a low moment before getting her career-defining role as Phoebe in 'Friends.' She had been cast in another beloved hit sitcom, 'Frasier.' Kudrow was playing Frasier's friend and colleague Roz Doyle in the pilot, but she could tell that the chemistry wasn't quite right. Director James Burrows let her go, and she assumed he didn't like her acting. Shortly afterward she auditioned for the role of Phoebe in 'Friends.' Who happened to be directing the show? James Burrows! After her audition, he said "no notes." She wasn't sure if that meant she had nailed it, or if the whole thing was a write-off. Well, you know the rest. 

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Johnny Depp -

Johnny Depp's legal battles with ex-wife Amber Heard included a libel suit he brought against The Sun for labeling him a “wife-beater”—a suit which was ultimately thrown out with the judge noting that the newspaper’s assertion of his behavior was “substantially true.” The actor subsequently left his role in 'Fantastic Beasts,' but later explained on social media that he had been asked to leave.

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Anne Hathaway -

Initially it was going to be Hathaway who would take on the role of one of the protagonists in 'Knocked Up.' In the film, the director wanted to shoot a very realistic delivery scene. In an interview with Allure, Hathaway revealed that she was not comfortable with the scene since, at the time, she hadn't experienced childbirth before. The role was given to Katherine Heigl.

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Charlie Sheen - The producers of 'Two and a Half Men' chose to fire the actor after he made nasty comments and failed to attend a drug rehabilitation program, according to People.

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Judy Garland - During the shooting of the movie 'Valley of the Dolls,' the iconic actress did not make a good impression and ended up being fired, says Mental Floss.

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Henry Cavill -

Director James Gunn took up his role as co-chairman of DC Studios in November and is certainly using his new position to shake things up in the DCU. Henry Cavill, who has played DC's Superman since 2013, announced in October that he'd be reprising the role, but two months later, news broke that he had been dropped. Gunn is indeed developing a new Superman movie but plans to take it in a new direction, exploring the early life of the character.

The news was delivered to Cavill in a meeting with James Gunn and DC Studio's other co-chair, Peter Safran. He took to Instagram to share the update with his followers afterward: “I will, after all, not be returning as Superman. After being told by the studio to announce my return back in October, prior to their hire, this news isn’t the easiest, but that’s life. The changing of the guard is something that happens. I respect that. James and Peter have a universe to build. I wish them and all involved with the new universe the best of luck, and the happiest of fortunes.”

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Henry Cavill - This unfortunate turn of events comes shortly after Cavill announced his departure from the successful Netflix series 'The Witcher,' in which he starred as Geralt. It's likely that Cavill made this decision while under the impression that he would be included in DC's new Superman movie. His role in 'The Witcher' has already been given to Liam Hemsworth. 

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Shia LaBeouf? -

Shia LaBeouf is already at his career low following the allegations of physical and verbal abuse made against him by FKA Twigs and others, but he still wanted to set the record straight on why he didn't appear in Olivia Wilde's film 'Don't Worry Darling.' After Wilde told Variety that she fired LaBeouf, the disgraced actor emailed the outlet the following day and claimed he actually quit back on August 17, 2020. 

Not only did LaBeouf forward two emails he claims to have sent Wilde after her story was published—in which he wrote, "You and I both know the reasons for my exit. I quit your film because your actors and I couldn’t find time to rehearse"—he also sent screenshots of text messages he sent to Wilde in August 2020, where he reportedly told Wilde he’d have to back out of the film, and where Wilde allegedly thanked him for being honest with her about his decision and added that she was "gutted because it could have been something special," though Variety reports that those texts were sent before the production learned of LaBeouf's acting methods.

In his email to Variety, however, LaBeouf also included a video that Wilde allegedly sent him on August 19, 2020, two days after he claims he quit, in which she says, “I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I, too, am heartbroken and I want to figure this out.” She then alludes to the tension between him and co-star Florence Pugh, “You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo, and I want to know if you’re open to giving this a shot with me, with us. If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace—and I respect your point of view, I respect hers—but if you guys can do it, what do you think? Is there hope? Will you let me know?”

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Shia LaBeouf? -

In the email he allegedly sent Wilde, which Variety published in full, LaBeouf wrote, "I know that you are beginning your press run for DWD and that the news of my firing is attractive clickbait, as I am still persona-non-grata and may remain as such for the rest of my life. But, speaking of my daughter, I often think about the news articles she will read when she is literate. And though I owe, and will owe for the rest of my life, I only owe for my actions."

"Firing me never took place, Olivia," he continued. "And while I fully understand the attractiveness of pushing that story because of the current social landscape, the social currency that brings. It is not the truth. So I am humbly asking, as a person with an eye toward making things right, that you correct the narrative as best you can. I hope none of this negatively effects [sic] you, and that your film is successful in all the ways you want it to be."

The film 'Don't Worry Darling' famously stars her then-boyfriend Harry Styles.

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Thandiwe Newton -

Reports said Thandiwe Newton was allegedly axed from 'Magic Mike' sequel after 11 days of filming. UK outlet The Sun reported that she was fired after getting into a heated argument on set with Channing Tatum about Will Smith’s infamous Oscars assault on Chris Rock. The disagreement reportedly escalated to such “astonishing” and “unimaginably vicious” levels that Tatum stormed off the West London set of 'Magic Mike’s Last Dance' and drove off in a car. Producers, which include Tatum, ultimately decided to recast Newton’s lead female role, which will now be played by Salma Hayek, according to Variety.

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Thandie Newton - However, while the replacement and the huge cost by production delay remains true, both Warner Bros. studio and Newton denied reports that she was fired, and instead said she had to step away "to deal with family matters." Representatives for Newton called reports that she had been fired "completely inaccurate," The Guardian reports.

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Frank Langella -

Revered actor of stage and screen Frank Langella has been cut out of the Netflix series, 'The Fall of the House of Usher.' The series is based on the work of Edgar Allan Poe and boasts other famous cast members such as Mark Hamill and Carla Gugino. The actor and four-time Tony winner was reportedly under investigation for misconduct on set. The investigation was concluded midway through production and Langella was fired from the project. Neither Netflix nor Langella have commented on the incident. 

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Armie Hammer -

Armie Hammer has been dropped from at least three high-profile project in the wake of assault allegations that have spread on social media since the beginning of 2021. He was fired from Amma Asante's Cold War thriller film 'Billion Dollar Spy', from the Jennifer Lopez-led rom-com 'Shotgun Wedding,' and from Paramount’s 'The Offer,' a series about the making of 'The Godfather.'

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Gina Carano -

Lucasfilm dropped Gina Carano from their megahit 'The Mandalorian,' explaining that "her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable." The news came a day after the actress shared two controversial posts. In one she compared the "American political climate to Nazi Germany, with remarks likening conservative republicans to Jewish people," reports ET. In another post, she mocked mask-wearing during the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, she had also been accused of transphobia.

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Jason Mitchell - After unclear but very serious allegations of misconduct, Deadline reported that 'Straight Outta Compton' star Jason Mitchell had been dropped by his agency, management company, his lead role in the Netflix movie 'Desperados,’ as well as the next season of the popular series 'The Chi.'

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Julianne Moore - Julianne Moore was fired from Oscar-nominated film 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' because she wanted to wear a fat suit and a false nose, according to actor Richard E Grant.

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Edward Norton - The actor played the roles of Hulk/Bruce Banner in the movie 'The Incredible Hulk' however, he was not called back to star in 'The Avengers.'  According to Den of Geek, Marvel Studios wanted an actor who embodied the same creativity and collaborative spirit as the rest of the crew and cast mates.

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Ryan Gosling - Gosling was originally cast as the father in 'The Lovely Bones.' He put on 60 lbs (27 kg) for the role, but that didn't sit well with Director Peter Jackson, who didn't see the vision. "We had a different idea of how the character should look," Gosling told The Hollywood Reporter.

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Lisa Bonet - From 1984 to 1991, the actress played the role of Denise Huxtable in the series 'The Cosby Show.' According to The Richest, after the seventh season of the series the director decided to let the actress go due to creative differences.

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Justin Roiland -

Justin Roiland is the co-creator of the hit animated series 'Rick and Morty' and has voiced both of the beloved titular characters since the show first aired in 2013. The show is one of the most successful to air on Adult Swim and has a massive cult following. In January 2023, however, news broke that Roiland was facing domestic abuse charges related to an incident with an unnamed woman in 2020. He was been charged with one count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, or deceit. Roiland was first arrested in 2020, but in March 2023 the charges against him were dismissed due to insufficient evidence. Adult Swim had already fired him from 'Rick and Morty' by this time and chose not to rehire him. 

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Sylvester Stallone - According to CinemaBlend, after receiving the script for 'Beverly Hills Cop,' Stallone tried to rewrite the role he would play. The studios did not like the idea and Eddie Murphy was hired to replace him.

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Chloë Grace Moretz - When she was 11, the actress was hired to voice the character Penny in the animated film 'Bolt.' Even after she finished recording all the lines for the character, Disney still ended up hiring Miley Cyrus in place of Moretz, according to the Screen Rant.

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Christian Bale - The actor had been chosen as the lead character in 'American Psycho' however, after learning that DiCaprio was available, they temporarily cast him instead. When DiCaprio became unavailable in favor of a different movie, the producers went back to their original choice. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Bale revealed that he had always believed he would end up getting the part... and he did!

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Megan Fox - After making some unpleasant comments about the director of 'Transformers 3,' the actress was fired from the cast and they cast Rosie Huntington-Whiteley for her role instead. According to Wonderland, Fox revealed that director Michael Bay was like a dictator during filming.

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Stana Katic - In April 2016, it was announced that the actress would not be returning to the newest season of 'Castle,' and a month later the series was canceled. Before being canceled, the producers were all set for the next season and implied that Katic would not be necessary for the new season, Us Weekly reveals.

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Terrence Howard - Howard had signed a contract to be in the three 'Iron Man' films. When it came time to shoot 'Iron Man 2,' Howard was told he would be receiving less money than had initially been agreed upon, because the film did not require his participation to be a success, according to Screen Rant. The actor did not accept and was eventually replaced by Don Cheadle.

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Selma Blair - The actress played the role of Charlie Sheen's girlfriend in 'Anger Management.' She was fired in 2013 and filed suit against Sheen and the production team demanding the money she would have received had she not been fired, the Daily Mail reports. Blair was fired after complaining that during filming the rest of the team had to wait for Sheen to memorize his lines.

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Shannen Doherty - Tori Spelling revealed to Us Weekly that after some incidents involving Doherty on the set of 'Beverly Hills 90210,' she phoned her father Aaron Spelling, creator and producer for the series, asking him to fire Doherty... and so she was axed.

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Taylor Momsen - After starring in four seasons of 'Gossip Girl,'  her character's story line finally came to an end. According to Elle, during the fourth season of the series, the actress was not very present and the directors also thought she could have been giving more in her performances.

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Suzanne Somers - The actress was one of the protagonists of the comedy show 'Three's Company.' According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sommers was fired after having asked for a salary increase.

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Jean-Claude Van Damme - There are several theories about the decision of doing away with the actor on the set of 'Predator.' According to GeekTyrant, Van Damme, who played Predator, did too many kickboxing movies, which was going against what the director wanted. He was subsequently let go.

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Isaiah Washington - After making homophobic remarks about fellow cast member T.R. Knight, Washington was immediately dismissed from the cast of 'Grey's Anatomy,' as reported by Marie Claire.

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Eric Stoltz - The actor was the first choice for the role of Marty McFly in the movie 'Back to the Future.' In the first weeks of filming, the production team realized that Stoltz was the wrong choice and hired Michael J. Fox instead, Vulture reports.

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Samantha Morton - It was during the post-production phase of the movie 'Her' that Spike Jonze realized that Morton was not the right person for the role. Scarlett Johansson was then hired instead, Vulture says.

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Thomas Gibson - Since the premiere of 'Criminal Minds' in 2005, the actor was part of the cast; however, in 2016, after an argument on set over a line in the script, the actor was eventually fired from the series, Variety reveals.

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Kal Penn - During the period in which he was working on the series 'Dr. House,' Penn was invited to join the Obama administration. Even though he made the decision to commit to his role until the end, the production team killed him off the series by having his character kill himself, as revealed by CNN.

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Stuart Townsend - Just a day before the first official day of shooting for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,' Townsend was fired. The actor would supposed to portray Aragorn, according to The Telegraph.

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Leah Remini - The actress worked as an executive producer on 'The Talk' before she was fired in 2012. According to People, Remini later went on to state that her dismissal was "absolutely" the right choice, as she believes her bosses on the show would have wanted her to stay quiet and do what she's told–and that just wouldn't fly with the actress' outspoken personality.

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James Remar - After only a week of filming, Remar was fired from the cast of 'Aliens'. According to Screen Rant, this was due to problems related to the actor's drug use.

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Erinn Hayes - Hayes was completely caught off-guard when she learned that her character on 'Kevin Can Wait' would be killed off after the first season, reveals Fox News. Leah Remini was then cast for season two.

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Colin Firth - After finishing recording the voice of the lively character Paddington, producers thought Firth's voice was too mature and hired Ben Whishaw to take his place instead, according to Screen Rant.

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Columbus Short -

After a real scandal over allegations of domestic violence, the actor was immediately dismissed from the cast of 'Scandal,' reports TMZ.

See also: The actors who turned down roles in successful movies

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