Hollywood is full of missed opportunities.
Actors turn down roles that end up being bigger than anyone imagined.
And the shocking reason this iconic movie almost never happened will put your jaw on the floor.
Actor Eric Stoltz got fired early on during the filming of Back to the Future, and he was replaced by Michael J. Fox.
The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles actor Anthony Michael Hall was almost cast to play the lead in Full Metal Jacket, but negotiations broke down.
Dr. Jones
Hollywood is filled with these stories, and perhaps the biggest example is Tom Selleck being contractually forced out of the lead role in Raiders of the Lost Ark – Harrison Ford accepted the role, and the rest is obviously history.
Actress Karen Allen, who starred as Marion Ravenwood in Raiders, told Fox News that “Tom previously had done a pilot for ‘Magnum, P.I.’ before being asked to play Indiana Jones.”
“And when you do a pilot, you sign a contract that, if it gets picked up, you’re committed,” she added. “So they picked up the pilot. They picked up his option, and he could no longer play Indiana Jones. I was already cast as Marion, but we still had no Indiana Jones.”
Selleck still had a good career, but Indiana Jones is obviously an iconic role that could have very well changed his entire trajectory.
“Of course, they knew [Ford] very well from the ‘Star Wars’ films,” Allen continued. “George Lucas was also working on ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ I don’t think Harrison was the most obvious choice because he was already doing the ‘Star Wars’ films. And perhaps they thought viewers would see Han Solo, not Indiana Jones, on the screen. It didn’t seem possible. But it worked out. He was able to do both quite brilliantly.”
“Great regrets”
Allen also mentioned that she felt Selleck regretted not being able to play Indiana Jones.
“Tom wasn’t just considered; he was cast initially,” she continued. “He had the role. I have run into him several times since then. I think one of the great regrets of his career is not having the chance to play Indiana Jones.”
When Ford was asked about it, he told an interviewer he couldn’t be happier that he became the film’s “second choice.”
“How I got the job?” Ford asked rhetorically. “Tom Selleck had the job, but he also incurred an obligation to do a television series and he was unable to get out of that contract. I became the second choice, and I’m very grateful for Tom. Thank you, Tom, man. If you’re listening, thank you again.”
Selleck starred in several films and television shows, making plenty of money, so his career is clearly not a sob story.
But he must constantly think, “What if?”
