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Eddie Murphy in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? - The '80s were Murphy's golden years, but his first self-admitted misstep was passing on the role of Eddie Valiant in Robert Zemeckis's groundbreaking caper film. Claiming he thought the film would be a disaster, Murphy now "feels like an idiot" every time he sees it. (Photo: Evan Agostini/PictureGroup)

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Will Smith in The Matrix - The shades and trench coat made famous by Keanu Reeves were originally meant to be filled by Smith. The actor had no hard feelings, though, saying he thought Keanu was "brilliant as Neo." (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images

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Sammy Davis Jr. in Beetlejuice - This ghoulish comedy by then-relatively new director Tim Burton was intended to star his childhood hero, Sammy. But studio bosses convinced him to give the role to Michael Keaton, making it the actor's edgiest and most iconic one to date. (Photo: CBS/Landov)

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Queen Latifah in Monster's Ball - Halle Berry forgot to thank Queen Latifah — or, at least, her busy schedule — in her acceptance speech at the 2002 Oscars. The Jersey-born rapper had to drop out of the film due to scheduling conflicts, giving Berry the opportunity of a lifetime. Latifah got a second chance at an Academy Award one year later, when she got a Best Supporting Actress nod for Chicago. (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

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Cuba Gooding Jr. in Amistad - Following his Best Supporting Actor win for Jerry Maguire, Gooding may have gotten too used to his famous phrase, "show me the money." The actor admits success swelled his head and he made a huge mistake turning down the lead role in Spielberg's slave epic. (Photo: Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

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Whitney Houston in A Star Is Born - After the unexpected success of The Bodyguard, studios were scrambling to be in "the Whitney Houston business." Warner Bros. fast-tracked its remake of this Barbara Streisand classic for Houston, but the project lay dormant for nearly 20 years until Beyoncé became attached late last year. (Photo: Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup)

Photo By Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup

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Aaliyah in Honey - The role of aspiring choreographer Honey Daniels was meant to be played by Aaliyah before the singer's tragic death had producers scrambling to recast the part. It eventually became the role that put Jessica Alba on the map. (Photo: Art Walters/Globe Photos Inc)

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Halle Berry in Speed and Gigli - She dodged a bullet dropping out of Gigli, which went on to become one of history's most infamous bombs, but lost a big opportunity when she passed on box-office smash Speed, which launched Sandra Bullock's career. Do those cancel each other out? (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

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Naomi Campbell in Leaving Las Vegas - The supermodel actually shot scenes for this gritty drama, which earned Nicolas Cage an Oscar, but her role was left on the cutting-room floor. Pity the producer who had to give her the news. (Photo: Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo:  Rabbani and Solimene Photography/Getty Images

10 / 15

Sean "Diddy" Combs in Any Given Sunday - Diddy was originally approached by controversial director Oliver Stone for the role of football player Willie Beamen (later made famous by Jamie Foxx), but rumor has it he was dropped from the project because he "couldn't convincingly throw a football." Officially, the reason was "scheduling conflicts." (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

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Ice Cube in Forrest Gump - Cube turned down the role of simpleton Bubba in this Oscar-sweeper because he didn't want to appear "dumb." Bad move? At least he's in good company. David Alan Grier, Tupac Shakur and Dave Chapelle also reportedly passed on the part. (Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images

Photo By Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM

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Whoopi Goldberg in Splash - Before she made a splash in Ghost and Sister Act, Goldberg auditioned for the role of Tom Hanks's mermaid lover in Ron Howard's classic rom-com. The producers, obviously, decided to go another direction and cast Darryl Hannah in the part. (Photo: S.Bergman/JPegFoto)

13 / 15

Don Cheadle in Shaft - After catching his breakthrough performance in Out of Sight, director John Singleton wanted Cheadle to fill Richard Roundtree's shoes in his big-screen reboot of Shaft. But producer Scott Rudin insisted on a bigger box-office draw, and the part went to Samuel L. Jackson. (Photo: Carlo Allegri/Getty Images)

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Eminem in Jumper and Wanted - After he proved his acting chops in the semi-autobiographical 8 Mile, offers poured in for Marshall Mathers. Among the ones he turned down, eight million to star opposite Samuel L. Jackson in Jumper and the lead opposite Angelina Jolie in the action hit Wanted. (Photo: Frank Micelotta/PictureGroup)

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Tina Turner in The Color Purple and Thelma & Louise - She saw herself portrayed in cinema by Angela Bassett in What's Love Got to Do With It, but Tina passed on several acting opportunities. She was reportedly the first choice to play blues singer Shug in The Color Purple (a role that earned Margaret Avery an Oscar nomination) and was up for one half of the hell-raising duo in Thelma & Louise. (Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)