Part of being an actor is choosing what roles are right for you at different points in your career, but even some longtime Hollywood vets, like Tom Hanks & Johnny Depp, cannot get it right all the time. 

Below are 14 stars who turned down now-iconic TV & film roles.

1. Matthew Broderick – Walter White, Breaking Bad

The character of Walter White will go down in television history as one of the most highly praised & notable parts on the small screen, thanks mostly to Bryan Cranston’s masterful portrayal. But believe it or not, Matthew Broderick was also considered for the role. Although the show’s creator, Vince Gilligan, wanted Cranston from the start, the other producers actually were not convinced, having only seen Cranston playing the dad on Malcolm in the Middle. In the end, they came around, which is absolutely a good thing — the actor’s portrayal helped make Breaking Bad one of the most followed & acclaimed shows on TV & earned him 4 Emmys for Outstanding Drama Actor.

2. Tom Hanks – Jerry Maguire, Jerry Maguire

Director Cameron Crowe has admitted that he wrote the 1996 sports drama with Tom Hanks purposely in mind. Regrettably, Hanks could not take the role, as he was busy directing That Thing You Do at the same time. Still, he gave his say on new choices, ultimately publicly revealing his approval of Tom Cruise as his substitute for the role. “I think you look at it now & it couldn’t have been anybody other than Tom Cruise,” Hanks told Access Hollywood. “It’s the way the movie’s operated. I don’t think anybody would look at that now & say, ‘That movie was not perfect.’ ”

3. Hugh Jackman – James Bond, Casino Royale

Most actors would give anything to play James Bond, but not Hugh Jackman. He refused to be considered for taking the part of 007 around the time of the first X-Men. Afterward, the actor told the Hollywood Reporter that he had turned down the role out of fear he would get typecast & that it’d limit his chances in the future. Of course, he ended up taking the iconic role of Wolverine, as well as quite a few other genre-spanning roles, including his Oscar-nominated turn in Les Miserables.

4. Katie Holmes – Piper Chapman, Orange Is the New Black; Buffy Summer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Holmes has been known to turn down at least 2 major small-screen roles. The latest is the lead on the hit Netflix show OITNB. Jenji Kohan, the creator of the show, lately said that she would seriously considered Holmes for the part of Piper, which in the end went to Taylor Schilling; Holmes was in fact too busy with other commitments to sign on. Years before, Holmes had as well been offered the role of Buffy — a part finally taken by Sarah Michelle Gellar — but she decided to finish high school in its place.

5. Leonardo DiCaprio – Dirk Diggler, Boogie Nights

DiCaprio is notoriously selective when it comes to finding roles, & while that typically works for him, there was at least one case in which his pickiness turned out to be a drawback. The Oscar-nominated actor was up for the part of porn star Dirk Diggler in the 1997 film but chose to pass. It is a move that he has since come to regret, as he is earlier expressed. “I’m a huge fan of (director) Paul Thomas &erson but the first time I met him for that role I hadn’t really seen much of his previous work,” Dicaprio once told GQ. “Now I love that movie.” Mark Wahlberg finally earned the role.

6. Thomas Jane – Don Draper, Mad Men

We all know that Jon Hamm is Mad Men now, so it seems unfeasible that there was ever any other option. But during a WTF podcast, Hamm himself revealed that he was not the top casting choice for the directors, who in its place wanted Thomas Jane. “The casting directors didn’t know who I was. I wasn’t on anybody’s lists,” he said. “The funny thing was, I think they went to Thomas Jane for it, & they were told that Thomas Jane does not do television. Now starring in Hung, by the way.” Hamm has since earned numerous Emmy nominations for his portrayal (although he has never won).

7. Dana Delany – Carrie Bradshaw, Sex & the City

Today, it is hard to picture anyone other than Sarah Jessica Parker chronicling the struggles of single women with her iconic role on HBO’s long-running Sex & the City. But the part was in fact originally offered to Desperate Housewives star Dana Delaney. In 2011, she told the Daily Mail that she turned down the role because she “didn’t want to be in a show about sex.” Though the show was widely successful & ultimately turned Jessica Parker into a worldwide star, Delany maintains that she has “no regrets.”

8. Julia Roberts  – Leigh Anne Tuohy, The Blind Side

Roberts was at first offered the part of the real-life strong-headed woman with a heart of gold in the Oscar-nominated The Blind Side. She seemingly declined the part to star in order to star in the ensemble film Valentine’s Day. The role finally went to Sandra Bullock, & the part ended up being Bullock’s version of Roberts’s Erin Brockovich. She not only earned extensive critical acclaim for her portrayal, but it also won her the Oscar for Best Actress. Coincidentally, Roberts has also turned down another renowned Sandra Bullock role, having declined the role in the romantic comedy The Proposal.

9. John Travolta – Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump

It is difficult to picture, but the classic Tom Hanks role was at first offered to John Travolta. He declined the part & has since openly admitted that passing on the role was one of the major mistakes of his career — something that is very rare in Hollywood. But Travolta was not only the one in line ahead of Hanks for the part. Both Bill Murray & Chevy Chase turned down the role before it was finally offered to Hanks. Eventually, it worked out for the best: Hanks’s portrayal cemented Gump as one of the unforgettable characters in the history of film & earned him his second successive Oscar for Best Actor.

10. Michelle Pfieffer – Clarice Starling, Silence of the Lambs

Though screenwriter Ted Tally seemingly envisioned Jodie Foster as the lead role for the psychological thriller from the very start, director Jonathan Demme though Pfieffer would better suit the part. Pfieffer, nevertheless, chose to avoid the heavy amount of gore & dark subject matter, so she turned down the film. Foster finally landed the lead in the critically acclaimed film, which went on to win all 5 of the most coveted awards at the Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, & Best Screenplay.

11. Molly Ringwald – Vivian Ward, Pretty Woman

The ’80s star had her wide pick of movie roles after finding such enormous success with a string of John Hughes-directed flicks — counting that of Vivian Ward in the 1990 romantic comedy Pretty Woman. Luckily for Julia Roberts, Ringwald turned down the role & moved overseas. The part ended up becoming a career-defining moment for Roberts, earning her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Though she did not end up winning the award that year, the role put her on the map & kicked off the start of an amazingly successful career.

12. Sarah Michelle Gellar – Cher Horowitz, Clueless

Michelle Gellar found her own pop culture fame with the role of Buffy. But once upon a time, she was also offered the lead role of sassy, makeover-loving Beverly Hills blonde Cher Horowitz. The actress had to turn down the part because filming conflicted with her timetable on All My Children. The part in the end went to the then relatively strange Alicia Silverstone. Her portrayal not only launched her career & made her a household name, but also helped cement Clueless as one of the classic romantic comedies of all time.

13. Paul Giamatti – Michael Scott, The Office

What would The Office be without Steve Carell? Most likely not anywhere near as successful or funny. But he was not the first choice. NBC programmer Tracy McLaughlin wanted Giamatti, fresh off his acclaimed film Sideways, to play the role of Scott. Though, the actor was not keen on the idea of transitioning to television & decided to decline the part. Other actors also considered for the part were Ben Falcone, Alan Tudyk, & Rainn Wilson, who finally decided to play Dwight. Meanwhile, the lead role catapulted Carell to a new level in his career & garnered critical acclaim.

 14. Johnny Depp – Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Though it may be hard to imagine the eccentric Depp in the ’80s classic coming-of-age film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, he was initially offered the lead role. He had to turn it down because the scheduling conflicted with other projects, & Matthew Broderick in the end took the part. While it would have been interesting to see Depp put his own spin on the part, Broderick certainly did the role justice — his portrayal of Bueller helped make the movie as momentous to pop culture as it now is.