15 Actors Who Needed Some Persuasion To Take On Roles
![15 Actors Who Needed Some Persuasion To Take On Roles](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/5/779325_320x180.jpg)
It takes a lot to get some people to take a big role. There are plenty of actors out there who need persuasion to take on a large role in a movie. These are the roles that can make or break someone's career. Some of these actors only take on small roles, while others stick to what they know. More often than not, these are the great actors out there who don't need to stretch themselves too thin. They're happy with the work they have and don't need the extra pressure that comes with taking on a large role. While this may be frustrating for some directors, it's also why we have such amazing talent in Hollywood today. Instead of stretching themselves too thin, these actors focus on their craft and give us amazing entertainment.
There exists an alternate timeline where Daniel Day-Lewis never starred in Gangs of New York and instead kept making shoes in Italy because why the hell not. Still, we’re glad he was persuaded to don that mustache and play the shit out of Bill the Butcher. The man sure can butcher (and make shoes -- he’s just hella impressive). Here’s a list of actors who needed a little extra persuasion to take on some pretty big roles.
![ROBIN WILLIAMS AS THE GENIE IN ALADDIN Disney hired an animator to draw and lip-sync the Genie performing one of Robin Williams' stand-up sets to show and convince him to take the part. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/9/779339.jpg)
![DANIEL DAY-LEWIS IN GANGS OF NEW YORK -Lewis went into semi-retirement during the '90s and became an apprentice to a shoemaker in Italy. When Leonardo DiCaprio signed on for Gangs of New York, Scorsese asked him to meet with Day-Lewis and get him to sign on for the movie. It took several dinners to convince the actor to put down the shoes and put on the hat of Bill the Butcher. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/5/779335.jpg)
![TOM CRUISE IN TOP GUN 7 MAVERICK Producer Jerry Bruckheimer said it wasn't easy convincing Cruise to take the role of fighter-p Pete Maverick Mitchell in the 1986 movie, so they arranged a flight with him and actual Navy pilots to give him a taste of the movie and also scare him a little. It didn't, he loved it, and the rest is history. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/4/1/779341.jpg)
![PETER DINKLAGE IN GAME OF THRONES Dinklage wasn't interested in starring in a fantasy again (he played a dwarf in Prince Caspian), saying: In fantasy, everybody speaks in broad strokes. There's no intimacy. There's dragons and big speeches, and there's nothing to hold on to. And for somebody my size, it's king death, the opposite of I was involved with. The creators convinced him that they wouldn't be focusing on stereotypes and fantasy tropes. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/4/0/779340.jpg)
![MARK RUFFALO AS THE HULK Ruffalo wasn't sure he could be in a big superhero movie playing a character like the Hulk because he was so used to starring in indie films. Both Joss Whedon and Robert Downey Jr. had to talk him into playing the character. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/7/779337.jpg)
![MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL IN DONNIE DARKO Director Richard Kelly had to convince Jake's sibling to also play his sister in the movie. Kelly said she was reluctant, because she didn't want to play Donnie's sister just because, you know, she's Jake's actual sister. She wanted the best actress to get the part, not just a family member. Her strong will impressed Kelly so much that he kept telling her she'd be perfect for the role. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/3/779333.jpg)
![JENNIFER LAWRENCE IN THE HUNGER GAMES Lawrence was about to turn down the part of Katniss Everdeen before her mother called her out for being a hypocrite. She was like, 'You're being a hypocrite because you always say you don't care about the size of the movies.' Because when I was doing indies, everybody was always like, 'Why don't you ever do a studio?' I'd say, 'Because I don't care about the size of the movie. I care about the story.' And my mom was like, 'Now you have a story you like, and you're not going to do it](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/4/779334.jpg)
![LUKE EVANS AS GASTON The actor turned down the part in the live-action Beauty and the Beast three times before caving. He was looking to merge his acting and singing skills, but didn't think Gaston would be the character to do it. A friend eventually convinced him to give the character a chance after they watched the movie together with their kids. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/1/779331.jpg)
![JULIA ROBERTS IN FRIENDS The actress has a cameo in the show alongside Matthew Perry, and when Perry first asked her to appear on the show, she said she'll do it if he wrote her a paper on quantum physics. He faxed a paper (with who knows what on) the next day, and after flirting back and forth over faxes she agreed to make an appearance. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/9/779329.jpg)
![ELISABETH SHUE IN COBRA KAI The actress from the original The Karate Kid was persuaded to appear in the series by The Boys director Dan Trachtenberg. Trachtenberg is a huge fan of the show and couldn't stop telling Shue how she just had to take the role while they were working on set together. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/8/779328.jpg)
![DEREK LUKE IN NOTORIOUS Sean Diddy Combs had to persuade Luke himself to take the role of Combs in the 2009 film about Biggie Smalls' life. Luke was hesitant because Diddy was still alive and he felt uncomfortable playing a guy who would actually watch the movie and criticize him, but Combs gave Luke a call and convinced him to play the part. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/6/779336.jpg)
![DEBRA JO RUPP IN WANDAVISION The actress said her great-nephew convinced her to take the part after she didn't understand any of the story director Matt Shakman was trying to explain to her. When her great-nephew threatened to never speak to her again if she didn't take the part, she agreed to let Shakman explain it to her a little more. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/2/7/779327.jpg)
![LEONARDO DICAPRIO IN TITANIC The rising actor was considering turning down the role when his Romeo + Juliet co-star Paul Rudd stepped in to convince him. While Rudd is reluctant to take credit, his excitement about the actual Titanic (his dad was an expert) seemed to have made DiCaprio excited about it too. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/0/779330.jpg)
![JOE PESCI IN THE IRISHMAN XXXX While Pesci retired in 1999, he's done some bit parts since. But when it came to taking on a role in The Irishman, Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese had to do a lot of coaxing to get him on board. Pesci told actress Kathrine Narducci that he hung up on many of their phone calls, and only took the part because they couldn't stop bugging him. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/8/779338.jpg)
![CHRIS EVANS AS CAPTAIN AMERICA Evans didn't want to be Captain America, and initially said no because he was scared of losing his anonymity and not being able to do what he wanted without people bothering him. His mother stepped in to convince him that, if he takes a big role like that now, he wouldn't have to act and be in the spotlight for the rest of his life. CRACKED.COM](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/3/3/2/779332.jpg)