Actors who auditioned to play heroes but were cast as villains

Cillian Murphy auditioned to play the Gotham hero in 'Batman Begins' (2005) but instead landed the role of villain Scarecrow. "He wasn’t right for that part in the way that Christian was. But the performance was incredible and everybody took huge notice of it while we were shooting it and while we watched the tests. I then was able to go to the studio and ask to put him in as Crane, as Scarecrow," said director Christopher Nolan.

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Cillian Murphy -

"I never for a moment thought I was [Batman] material. It was obvious that Christian Bale was gonna be Batman – at that time it was clear, and he's such a magnificent Batman and Bruce Wayne," said Murphy.

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Sam Rockwell -

Sam Rockwell was considered for playing the MCU character Tony Stark aka Iron Man. Rockwell did however manage to be cast as villain Justin Hammer in 'Iron Man 2' (2010). The protagonist role went to Robert Downey Jr. instead.

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Sam Rockwell -

"He was one of the actors I was looking at for Tony Stark. There was some things he would bring to the role that would have been great. Sam is very charismatic and when I was looking at the character there was a list and he had a spot on it, which might have surprised some people. Robert surprised some people, too, though, and now he is Tony Stark, he owns that role. Sam would have come up with interesting and different things," said director Jon Favreau.

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Rachel McAdams -

Rachel McAdams first auditioned for the role of Cady Heron, but was considered "too old" and unable "to play the ingenue" by director Mark Waters. She ended up being cast as Regina George, the leader of the Plastics in 2004's 'Mean Girls.'

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Lindsay Lohan would ultimately play Cady Heron. Lohan was the director's first choice to play the villain Regina George, because of her "aggressive, testosterone-laden energy." But because Lohan had starred in 'Freaky Friday' (2003), which was a success, the studio wanted her to play the lead in 'Mean Girls' as well.

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James Franco -

James Franco auditioned to play Peter Parker aka Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man' trilogy, but ended up playing villain Harry Osborn instead.

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James Franco -

Tobey Maguire got the role instead. When asked about it, Franco said "People bring up the fact that I auditioned for Peter Parker and I tested, and it was huge test. It must have been thousands of dollars just for this test. There were cranes and sets and they kept me waiting about six weeks. And then Tobey got the role and…I mean nobody believes when I say that I think he’s perfect for the role. I think he has done a better job than I would do in that role. But after the test, after Tobey got it, I guess Sam [Raimi] and I got along well enough that he wanted me in the movie. And as far as I know he didn’t audition anybody else for Harry. He just called me up and asked me if I wanted to play that role."

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Laura Prepon -

Laura Prepon auditioned to play the main protagonist, Piper, in the show 'Orange Is the New Black' (2013–2019). However, show creator Jenji Kohan didn't "believe that girl would be scared in prison."

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Laura Prepon -

Laura Prepon landed the role of Alex instead. As for Piper, the part went to Taylor Schilling.

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Christopher Mintz-Plasse -

The actor auditioned to play the protagonist Dave Lizewski aka Kick-A** in the 2010 film, but ended up playing the antagonist Red Mist in the 2013 sequel 'Kick-A** 2.'

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Christopher Mintz-Plasse -

"Yeah, I read for the role of Kick-A**, and [director Matthew Vaughn] hated it. He hated everything I did in the audition, but he gave me the role of Red Mist," said Mintz-Plasse. Aaron Taylor-Johnson got the role instead.

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Alexander Skarsgård -

Alexander Skarsgård first auditioned to play Bill Compton in the HBO series 'True Blood' (2008–2014). But the Swedish actor ended up playing the evil vampire Eric Northman instead.

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Alexander Skarsgård -

Stephen Moyer was cast as Bill Compton instead. "Alex wasn't quite right for Bill, but I remember that he was giant and also beautiful. So when it came time to cast Eric, I thought of him," recalled creator Alan Ball.

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Alexander Ludwig -

Alexander Ludwig auditioned to play Peeta Mellark in 'The Hunger Games' (2012), but ended up playing the antagonist Cato.

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Alexander Ludwig -

The role went to Josh Hutcherson instead, but Ludwig was happy about how things turned out. "Usually I'm always playing the nice guy, and it's fun playing the bad guy once in a while," he said.

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Lee Pace -

Lee Pace auditioned to play Star-Lord in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (2014). Pace ended up playing Ronan the Accuser instead.

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Lee Pace -

The part of Peter Quill aka Star-Lord went to Chris Pratt.

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Sean Bean -

Sean Bean was considered for the role of James Bond in 1995's 'GoldenEye.' But it turns out, he wasn't to play agent 007.

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Sean Bean -

Instead, Bean was cast as rogue MI6 agent Alec Trevelyan. Pierce Brosnan played Bond.

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Jake Gyllenhaal -

Jake Gyllenhaal was considered to replace Tobey Maguire and play Spider-Man in 'Spider-Man 2' (2004) but Maguire and the studio reached an agreement.

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Jake Gyllenhaal -

In 2019, Gyllenhaal would eventually star as villain Mysterio opposite Tom Holland's Spider-Man in 'Spider-Man: Far from Home.'

Sources: (Ranker) (Geek Tyrant) (Time) (Esquire) (Us Weekly) (IMDb) (BuzzFeed)

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Tom Hiddleston -

Tom Hiddleston auditioned to play Thor, but he was not destined to be the God of Thunder. But his performance was so impressive that he was cast to play another character: Loki.

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Tom Hiddleston -

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Heath Ledger -

The late actor was director Christopher Nolan's first choice to play Batman in 'Batman Begins' (2005), but Ledger declined the role. Christian Bale was cast as Bruce Wayne instead.

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Heath Ledger -

The actor eventually play Joker in Nolan's 'The Dark Knight' (2008). Heath Ledger won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role posthumously.

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Iwan Rheon -

Iwan Rheon first auditioned to play Jon Snow in 'Game of Thrones' (2011–2019), but instead he landed the role of the evil Ramsay Bolton.

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Iwan Rheon -

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Cillian Murphy -

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Cillian Murphy -

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Sam Rockwell -

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Sam Rockwell -

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Rachel McAdams -

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Rachel McAdams -

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James Franco -

James Franco auditioned to play Peter Parker aka Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man' trilogy, but ended up playing villain Harry Osborn instead.

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James Franco -

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Laura Prepon -

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Laura Prepon -

Laura Prepon landed the role of Alex instead. As for Piper, the part went to Taylor Schilling.

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Christopher Mintz-Plasse -

The actor auditioned to play the protagonist Dave Lizewski aka Kick-A** in the 2010 film, but ended up playing the antagonist Red Mist in the 2013 sequel 'Kick-A** 2.'

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Christopher Mintz-Plasse -

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Alexander Skarsgård -

Alexander Skarsgård first auditioned to play Bill Compton in the HBO series 'True Blood' (2008–2014). But the Swedish actor ended up playing the evil vampire Eric Northman instead.

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Alexander Skarsgård -

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Alexander Ludwig -

Alexander Ludwig auditioned to play Peeta Mellark in 'The Hunger Games' (2012), but ended up playing the antagonist Cato.

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Alexander Ludwig -

The role went to Josh Hutcherson instead, but Ludwig was happy about how things turned out. "Usually I'm always playing the nice guy, and it's fun playing the bad guy once in a while," he said.

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Lee Pace -

Lee Pace auditioned to play Star-Lord in 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (2014). Pace ended up playing Ronan the Accuser instead.

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Lee Pace -

The part of Peter Quill aka Star-Lord went to Chris Pratt.

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Sean Bean -

Sean Bean was considered for the role of James Bond in 1995's 'GoldenEye.' But it turns out, he wasn't to play agent 007.

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Sean Bean -

Instead, Bean was cast as rogue MI6 agent Alec Trevelyan. Pierce Brosnan played Bond.

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Jake Gyllenhaal -

Jake Gyllenhaal was considered to replace Tobey Maguire and play Spider-Man in 'Spider-Man 2' (2004) but Maguire and the studio reached an agreement.

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Jake Gyllenhaal -

In 2019, Gyllenhaal would eventually star as villain Mysterio opposite Tom Holland's Spider-Man in 'Spider-Man: Far from Home.'

Sources: (Ranker) (Geek Tyrant) (Time) (Esquire) (Us Weekly) (IMDb) (BuzzFeed)

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Actors who auditioned to play heroes but were cast as villains

Some played iconic antagonists

20/03/25 | StarsInsider

MOVIES Film

Some actors play such iconic characters, it's difficult for us to imagine anyone else being cast instead. But the truth is that many actors were nearly cast as other characters, including those who auditioned to play the hero, and actually ended up playing the villain! While the protagonist is a much sought-after character, some actors were deemed best at playing the antagonist instead.

Click through the gallery and get to know the actors who auditioned to play heroes, but ended up playing villains instead.