Not Starring: 15 More Iconic Roles Turned Down by Celebs
What parts did Will Smith, Oprah and Aaliyah never play?
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Denzel Washington in Dreamgirls - Last week, we brought you 15 roles that our fav celebs turned down. Check out 15 more from the late, great Aaliyah to Lauryn Hill.Oscar winner Washington reportedly turned down the part of Curtis Taylor, Jr. in this hit Broadway adaptation because he can't sing. His loss was certainly Jamie Foxx's gain!(Photo: Brad Barket/PictureGroup)
Photo By Photo: Brad Barket/PictureGroup
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Samuel L. Jackson in The Matrix - Genre icon Jackson seems like a natural choice to play the renegade Morpheus in The Matrix, but according to the film's composer Don Davis, he was passed up in favor of Laurence Fishburne.(Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for VH1)
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Jada Pinkett-Smith in Charlie’s Angels - Sexy, tough, athletic…who couldn't see Jada as a brainiac with a bite in Drew Barrymore's Charlie's Angels reboot? Unfortunately for her, the part went to Lucy Liu.(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)
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Lauryn Hill in Dreamgirls - For a project that was in development as long as Dreamgirls, it's no surprise many actresses cycled through the lead role of Deena Jones. Lauryn Hill was briefly attached in the mid-1990s, at the peak of her popularity, before her self-imposed exile. Of course, Beyoncé won the part in the end.(Photo: Jason Miller/Getty Images for Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame)
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Dorothy Dandridge in The King and I - The songbird was pursued for the role of Tuptim in this 1956 classic, but turned it down on the advice of Otto Preminger, her director from Carmen Jones, who dissuaded her from accepting a supporting role. Her biopic, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, also suggests she passed because the character was a slave.(Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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Will Smith in K-Pax - We've seen Will Smith battling alien life forms in films like Men in Black, I am Legend and Wild, Wild West, but did you know he almost played one in K-Pax? Smith ultimately passed on the role of Prot, the mental patient who convinced doctor's he was from another planet, and it went to Kevin Spacey.(Photo: Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup)
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Tupac Shakur in Higher Learning - After earning rave reviews for his performance in Poetic Justice, Shakur was ready to tackle the role of a Black college student on a track scholarship in John Singleton's Higher Learning. Unfortunately, he was sentenced to jail before shooting began and had to be replaced by his Juice co-star Omar Epps.(Photo: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
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Halle Berry in Waiting to Exhale - Before reaching the top of the A-list in the late 1990s, Berry was competing for limited roles with a long list of beautiful and talented Black actresses. She lost the part of high-powered executive with man troubles Robin Stokes to Lela Rochon.(Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)
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Jennifer Lopez in Jerry Maguire - Believe it or not, Lopez was originally up for the role of Tom Cruise's mousy, well-meaning love interest in this breakout hit. Her agent passed, claiming he didn't think the chemistry would be right between J.Lo and Cruise. He was probably right.(Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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Robin Givens in Waiting to Exhale - Like Halle Berry, Givens also auditioned for the coveted role of Robin Stokes in this 1995 romance classic, which also starred Whitney Houston, Angela Bassett and Loretta Devine. It must have been a tough call for casting agents, who ultimately gave the part to Lela Rochon.(Photo: Vince Bucci/PictureGroup)
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