Actors Who Almost Got the Big Role – Arnold Schwarzenegger Edition

Debra Winger was originally cast as Sarah Conner, but changed her mind and dropped from the project prior to filming.  Reports suggest Glenn Close was also offered the role but couldn’t accept due to scheduling conflicts.  Julia Louis-Dreyfus was also rumored to have been approached for the role but had to decline due to commitments with ‘Saturday Night Live’.  Bridget Fonda was also believed to be James Cameron’s idea for the role while writing it, but she passed on the project.

Billy Idol was James Cameron’s original choice for the T-1000, but couldn’t accept the role due to a motorcycle accident.

Charlie Korsmo (‘Dick Tracy’ & ‘Hook’) was offered the role of John Conner, but was unable to accept because of commitments with ‘What About Bob?’

Edward Furlong was supposed to reprise the role of John Connor but was allegedly dropped from the project for his substance abuse problems.

Peta Wilson and Joanie Laurer were considered for the role of the T-X, with Laurer being suggested for the part by Schwarzenegger himself.

Sophia Bush was cast as Kate, but director Johathan Mostow thought she looked too young for the role after viewing initial footage and recast the role with Clare Danes.

David Duchovny was considered for the role of Batman after Val Kilmer declined to return.

Sylvester Stallone and Hulk Hogan were Joel Schumacher’s second and third choices, respectively, had Schwarzenegger not taken the role.  Patrick Stewart was also a fan-favored choice for the part and considered by filmmakers until they decided make Mr. Freeze look “big and strong like he was chiseled out of a glacier.”

Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the title character, and even filmed some scenes as the “invisible” Predator which made it to the final cut of the movie.  Van Damme was released from the project after filmmakers felt he wasn’t imposing enough at 5’9” with the rest of the cast ranging from 6’2” to 6’5”.

Schwarzenegger was cast as Alex Murphy for the original ‘RoboCop’, but his size caused issues with the bulky costume, causing filmmakers to change plans and go with an actor with a smaller build.  After seeing ‘RoboCop’, Schwarzenegger was so impressed with the film that he wanted to work with director Paul Verhoeven, ultimately working together on ‘Total Recall’

Schwarzenegger was in contention for the title character in ‘Flash Gordon’, but was disqualified by producer Dino De Laurentis who felt Schwarzenegger’s thick Austrian-accent wasn’t suited for the role, saying that Flash Gordon shouldn’t have an accent.  Ironically, Sam Jones had to hide his Texas accent while filming.

‘Kull the Conqueror’ was originally designed to be the third film in the Conan franchise.  It is believed Schwarzenegger swore off doing any more sequels after the failure of ‘Conan the Destroyer’.  The script was rewritten for a new character, Kull, ultimately played by Kevin Sorbo.

Schwarzenegger was originally meant to play Conan, of which Red Sonja is a spin-off of the original comic book, but rights issues prevented the use of the name, so the character Kalidor was created for Schwarzenegger, basically being Conan in every way except name.  An unofficial explanation endorsed by fans is that “Kalidor” is one of the names Conan travels under.

Nick Nolte was the original choice for John Matrix before Schwarzenegger.

Another unnamed actor was cast in the role of Bennet, but was fired on the first day of filming.  Vernon Wells, who had previously auditioned for the role, was brought in last minute and forced to use the other actor’s wardrobe, which is why all of his clothing looks tight.

Schwarzenegger was offered the role of Mason before Sean Connery accepted, but declined due to the unfinished status of the script (at the time, only 80 pages long with a lot of handwritten notes and scribbles).  Schwarzenegger has since said he regrets not accepting the part.

David Lander (‘Lavern and Shirley’) was originally cast as the thief Malak, but was forced to drop out of the role due to deteriorating health from multiple sclerosis.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito were approached with two scripts, ‘Twins’ and ‘Suburban Commando’, with Hulk Hogan and Christopher Lloyd set to take whichever script wasn't chosen.

When under the production company of Dino De Laurentis, Patrick Swayze was cast as Douglas Quaid, but the company went bankrupt prior to filming.  Other actors including Jeff Bridges, Tom Selleck, and Mark Harmon were considered for Quaid before Schwarzenegger convinced Carolco to purchase the rights for he and Paul Vehoeven to work on.  Christopher Reeve was also offered the role, but turned it down.

Kurtwood Smith turned down the part of Richter, feeling it was too familiar to his part of Clarence Boddicker in ‘RoboCop’.

Cynthia Rothrock was considered for Lori Quaid, finding out years later she was ruled out due to other stars’ concern of being outshone by Rothrock’s martial arts ability.

The role of Helen Tasker was intended for Jaime Lee Curtis; though other actresses were considered.  Jodie Foster was offered the role at some point, but declined due to commitments with ‘Nell’.  Other considered actresses included Rosanna Arquette, Kim Basinger, Annette Bening, Geena Davis, Demi Moore, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Sharon Stone.

Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd were in the running for Albert Gibson before Tom Arnold was cast.