Famous Performances That Were Plan B (Or Plan Z)

Sometimes the backup plan works out really, really well.
Famous Performances That Were Plan B (Or Plan Z)

Most of our most iconic pop culture staples are inextricably connected with their creators. The weird thing is, a lot of times a big, famous thing wasn't the first choice of the person who made it famous. Or the person who made a thing famous wasn't the original choice.

Jaws, released in 1975, was handled to inculcate fear of very big fish in a whole era. There's a horrible rumor about the movie that claims the actress who has become the first target of the great white (Susan Backlinie) started yelling in real terror because the device tugging her underneath the water cracked her ribs.

However, there is no proof to substantiate this; director Steven Spielberg chose to make it a shock when the "fish" would "attack," implying that her scared, unexpected gasp and strangle of water were genuine responses. Roy Scheider also devised the line, "We're going to need a large boat."

There are still no people injured or killed in the making of the movie, but the same cannot be said about the lots of fake sharks. The red-herring great white killed opening scene was a real shark that died in Florida, but the first robot-jaws that tried out sank to the ocean floor.

Keep reading below for more!

The role that made Viggo Mortensen's career, Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, almost went to Nicolas Cage. CRACKED.COM
the silence of the lambs Hannibal Lecter's role was first offered to Sean Connery who thought the character was disgusting so he rejected their offer
Chevy Chase turned down playing Lester Burnham in American Beauty. CRACKEDGOM
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE CRACKEDCO WROTE THE N'SYNC HIT GONE FOR MICHAEL JACKSON. Justin said Michael passed on the song, so he presented it to his band. M
YOU TALKIN' TO ME, ZOLTAR? BIG THE ROLE OF JOSH IN WAS ORIGINALLY OFFERED TO ROBERT DE NIRO BUT HE WAS UNAFFORDABLE SO TOM HANKS STEPPED IN CRACKED.CO
In the original Game of Thrones pilot, Daenerys Targaryen wasn't played by Emilia Clarke. Tamzin Merchant was first cast as Daenerys, but after the pi
WHOOPI GOLDBERG WASN'T EVEN AN OPTION FOR THE ICONIC ROLE OF ODA MAE BROWN IN THE MOVIE GHOST. BUT PATRICK SWAYZE SAID HE WOULDN'T DO THE MOVIE WITHOU
Ridley Scott wasn't even on the list of possible directors for Alien. A ton of directors turned down Alien, including action movie director Walter Hil
Fight CIUb director David Fincher originally wanted Janeane Garofalo to play Marla Singer, but she turned him down because she was uncomfortable with
When director Richard Donner was hired to direct Superman: The Movie, the title role had been offered to NICK NOLTE. Others who were considered includ
Famous Performances That Were Plan B (Or Plan Z)
TOMMY WISEAU AUTEUR OF THE CULT HIT THE ROOM WANTED JOHNNY DEPP TO PORTRAY HIM IN THE DISASTER ARTIST NEVERTHELESS, WISEAU WAS PLEASED CRACKED.COM BY
Famous Performances That Were Plan B (Or Plan Z)
GEORGE LUCAS WASN'T PLANNING TO DIRECT THE PHANTOM MENACE HIMSELF. Ron Howard said he was one of three directors who passed, along with Steven Spielbe
Ghostbusters (1984) was conceived and written for Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Belushi's untimely death forced massive rewrites and recasting.
The Wachowskis initially wanted Will Smith to play Neo in The Matrix. Unable to grasp the concept of the film, Smith turned it down. CRACKED.COM
BREAKFAST TIFFANYS Truman Capote, the author of the story, thought Marilyn Monroe would be the perfect choice to play Holly Golightly. The role, of co
Director Jonathan CRACKED c COM Demme's first choice for the iconic role of Clarice Starling wasn't Jodie Foster. HE wanted Michelle Pfeiffer. The stu
Famous Performances That Were Plan B (Or Plan Z)
In the first drafts of 2001: A Space Odyssey HAL was named ATHENA and had a female voice.
Mel Gibson as Odin? According to the controversial actor, Marvel approached him to play Odin in the Thor films. He passed on the role, and it eventual
Steven Spielberg wanted Martin Scorsese to direct SCHINDLERSI LIST Spielberg offered the Holocaust movie to his friend, Scorsese, after ten years of h
The Karate Kid Pat Morita's performance as Mr. Miyagi is legendary but the movie's producer Jerry Weintraub initially wanted a serious actor to play t
Glynn Turman was almost cast as Han Solo. CRA George Lucas was going to give the iconic role to the relatively unknown actor, but the decision ultimat
CRACKED cO PHARRELL WILLIAmS' MASSIVE HIT HAPPr. WAS ORGINALLY RECORDED BY CeeLO GReEN BUT WAS never RELEASED. Williams claimed that CeeLo's managemen
GRACL Matthew Mcconaughey was the studio's first choice to play Jack in Titanic. McConaughey got pretty far in the process -he auditioned with Kate Wi
It could have been Denzel Washington instead of Brad Pitt asking What's in the box? Washington was offered the part of Detective Mills in Se 7en, bu
Famous Performances That Were Plan B (Or Plan Z)
A Uiy ZUHiS DIRECTOR DENIS VILLENEUVE'S FIRST CHOICE FOR REPLICANT MAKER NIANDER WALLACE WAS DAVID BOWIE. AFTER BOWIE'S DEATH IN 2017, VILLENEUVE SE
TERMINATOR 2 JUDGMENT DAY Robert Patrick got the part of the T-1000 because Billy Idol, who was James Cameron's first choice, had recently broken his
Scroll down for the next article
Forgot Password?