Biggest casting changes/mistakes.
 

Post away on movies that wouldv'e been much better or worse if the actor who was originally offered or rumored to have the gig did it. The biggest one I can think of is how Brad Pitt was the original choice to play Neo in the Matrix. Although Pitt IMO is a better actor, Keanu fits this role perfectly (I cant see Pitt being as naive as Reeves)

http://www.fanzing.com/images/imgs05/supern.jpg
"who, what, where?"

Godfather III instantly pops to mind, but in my mind Winona Ryder is just as crappy an actress as Sofia Coppola.

Agreed re: Pitt and The Matrix. Keanu was perfect in the role, only because he's so horrible in pretty much everything else.

There's also Stuart Townsend, who was Aragorn for all of half-a-week. I can't imagine Viggo not playing that part...

And I like Nicole Kidman, but Jodie Foster was so good in Panic Room I can't imagine anyone else in the role.

Madonna, Goldie Hawn, Kathy Bates, Rosie O'Donnel, Nicole Kidman Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz and Britney Spears were all considered for roles.
Chicago, that movie could have been a disaster. Also Harvey wanted to bring Britney in to appear to the "younger" crowd and even to appear in a music video that has nothing to do with Chicago. (except maybe the theme.)

Both of these actors were held up due to M:I2 being behind schedule. Kinda thankful they were...

Dougray Scott instead of Hugh Jackman as Wolverine (X-Men).
Hugh nailed the role.. not that I don't think Dougray could've done a better job.

Thandie Newton instead of Lucy Liu as Alex Munday (Charlie's Angels).
Why on earth would Thandie do Charlie's Angles? Then again, she did do The Truth About Charlie

Jean Reno as Agent Smith and Chow Yun Fat as Morpheus

Robert De Niro playing Josh Baskin would have been...different.

I heard Eric Stoltz was supposed to play MCfly and he even filmed some scenes but they later went with Michael j. Fox. Check out this months FHM magazine for a picture of Stoltz with Doc.

Steve Stiffler in any action movie

i think the current actors did their jobs very well, though i would have liked to see it done with these 2 as well. too bad that can't be a special feature. :)

Thinking about it, how cool would Chow Yun Fat have been as an agent.

Granted, Hugo Weaving was absolutely perfect as Agent Smith. But think of the fight scenes with Chow Yun Fat. Especially the subway fight. I think it would have been as cool, if not even cooler.

How about Kevin Smith doing the Randal role in Clerks? He always said that the reason Randal got the best lines was because Kevin was going to play Randal.

Hard to imagine anybody other than Jeff Anderson in that role.

Who's Josh Baskin? What film was that? Who wound up playing him?

It was Tom Hanks' character in Big.

DOHH!

How about Sam Neill as James Bond instead of Timothy Dalton in "The Living Daylight"? Didn't he audition for the part?

:yack: i never knew she was in the "running" oh, that would have just ruined the whole thing for me! would never have seen it. -ohbfrank-

Wasn't Richard Gere originally offered the role of John MacLaine in Die Hard? Somehow I can't picture anyone but Bruce Willis as MacLaine.

The creaters of the show said "you can do what ever you want to the soundtrack but you will not put this in the movie" when Harvey wanted to put that rap version of "cell block tengo" in the credits. (found out on htf btw)

James Caan turned down the role of R.P. McMurphy in "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest."

The mere act of turning down this role (which would have been perfect for him because he's a big guy with big hands like the character in the novel) proved he was nuts, hence ideal for the role.

We'd have heard: "winner of best actor of 1975...JAMES CAAN!!"

Umm do you mean Sean William Scott?

Nick Nolte turned down Superman. That would have been... interesting.

Also, Christopher Walken would have been great as Han Solo, if you know what I mean. :)

Some of the all-time classics include:

Ronald Reagan and George Raft were suggested for the role that Humphrey Bogart eventually got in Casablanca. Hedy Lamarr was put forward for the Ingrid Bergman role, and the part of Sam the piano player was originally angled for a woman; Lena Horne and Ella Fitzgerald were briefly considered.

(George Raft was also offered Bogart's roles in High Sierra and The Maltese Falcoln and turned both down.)

Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, and Dustin Hoffman were all offered the part of Michael Corleone in The Godfather, but all refused. Robert Redford and Ryan O'Neal were also considered.

Tom Selleck was originally cast as Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Kurt Russell and Nick Nolte were candidates for the role of Han Solo in Star Wars. Dustin Hoffman was the original lead for Blade Runner.

(and my all-time favorite...)

Before shooting began, Robert Redford suggested that he swap characters with Paul Newman -- and thus Redford portrayed Sundance and Newman portrayed Butch in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

(could any of these have worked in any other way?)

Also -- not only would Brad Pitt have been brilliant in The Matrix, so would virtually any other Hollywood star. I will argue with my last dying breath that Keanu Reeves brought nothing, yes, nothing, to that role.

Wasn't Tom Selleck the first choice to play Indiana Jones?