6 Iconic Movie Characters Almost Played By Another Actress

It took just 104 seconds for homegrown hero Margot Robbie to send the internet into a tailspin last week after her shiny new Barbie trailer dropped.

The trailer was just shy of two minutes, yet hundreds of thousands of tweets were published, as Barbie memes littered Instagram feeds and screenshots of Robbie’s perfectly arched doll foot from the trailer were scrutinised and shared.

The general consensus was that Margot Robbie was the perfect fit for the role of Barbie. However, fans were confused to learn that it was actually comedian Amy Schumer who was initially announced to play the doll back in 2017.

Schumer publicly cited “scheduling conflicts” as to why she pulled out of the role, yet a resurfaced interview has proven that the real reason ran deeper. “They definitely didn’t want to do it the way I wanted to do it, the only way I was interested in doing it,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in March 2022.

The Trainwreck actor told the publication that she wanted Barbie to be an “inventor” and the studio suggested that the invention be high heels made out of jelly. Schumer said when the studio sent her a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes to celebrate her joining the film, she knew that her idea probably wouldn’t get off the ground.

“The idea that that’s just what every woman must want, right there, I should have gone, ‘You’ve got the wrong gal,’” she recalled.

Fast forward a few years and Margot Robbie was announced to play the titular character. The role change between Amy Schumer and Margot Robbie is certainly not the first high-profile actress switch up.

It’s time to look back at some of the most iconic movie characters that were almost played by another actress.

Britney Spears as Allie in The Notebook

The role went to Rachel McAdams.

When most people think of The Notebook, they conjure up the image of Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams sharing a passionate kiss in the rain. In fact, their chemistry on the set was so strong that it was the beginning of a two-year relationship between the actors.

However, Ryan Gosling has since revealed Britney Spears read for the role of Allie back in 2001, and she made it through to a screen test.

Rachel McAdams as Andy in The Devil Wears Prada

The role went to Anne Hathaway.

Rachel McAdams happily snapped up the part of Allie in The Notebook but she refused to take on Andy in The Devil Wears Prada. According to Variety, McAdams was fresh out of filming the role of Regina George in Mean Girls and didn’t want to be typecast as a chick flick actor.

“We offered it to Rachel McAdams three times. The studio was determined to have her, and she was determined not to do it,” director David Frankel revealed.

The news was music to Anne Hathaway’s ears as she was pining to play Andy and was given the role after McAdams refused.

Anne Hathaway as Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook

The role went to Jennifer Lawrence.

Anne Hathaway was originally cast as the lead role of Tiffany in Silver Linings Playbook but quietly exited the film after alleged differences with director David O. Russell. Jennifer Lawrence happily took on the role, which won her her first Golden Globe for ‘Best Actress in a Motion Picture’.

Disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein spilled the tea about why Hathaway left Silver Linings Playbook. “I’ll give you an idea: Silver Linings Playbook was originally going to be with Anne Hathaway and Mark Wahlberg and then Anne wasn’t doing it. She’s marvellous and wonderful and she was my choice, I love her,” he told Howard Stern in a US radio interview at the time.

He continued: “We had Annie and then we had Mark…then whatever happened, happened. David and Anne had some creative differences, they didn’t see eye-to-eye.”

Claire Danes as Rose in Titanic

The role went to Kate Winslet.

Fresh off the back of Romeo and Juliet, Claire Danes was offered to pair up with Leonard DiCaprio again as Rose for Titanic. The actress turned down the film and the role eventually ended up going to Kate Winslet. Surprisingly, Danes doesn’t regret skipping out on the Oscar-winning classic.

“I’d just made this romantic epic with Leo in Mexico City [Romeo + Juliet], which is where they were going to shoot Titanic, and I just didn’t have it in me,” Danes said on the podcast Armchair Expert.

She explained that she and DiCaprio had the same agent at the time, and said that DiCaprio wasn’t really feeling the role either.

“I could see he wasn’t sure, but he was like, ‘Fuck it, I gotta do this thing.’” she recalled. “And I looked down on him, going, I totally understand why you are doing it. And I’m not ready for that. And I think I really wasn’t ready for it.”

Emma Watson as Mia in La La Land

The role went to Emma Stone.

Before Emma Stone danced her way onto La La Land as Mia, Emma Watson had agreed to play the part. The Harry Potter actress explained that she dipped out on La La Land because she, quite simply, didn’t have enough time.

“It’s one of these frustrating things where names get attached to projects very early on as a way to kind of build anticipation or excitement for something that’s coming before anything is really actually agreed or set in stone,” she told Vanity Fair.

Watson explained that she had already been locked in to play Belle in Beauty and The Beast and didn’t want to spread herself too thin.

“[Beauty and the Beast] wasn’t a movie I could just sort of step into,” she continued. “I knew I had horse training, I knew I had dancing, I knew I had three months of singing ahead of me and I knew I had to be in London to really do that. This wasn’t a movie I could just kind of parachute into. I knew I had to do the work, and I had to be where I had to be. So, you know, scheduling conflict-wise, it just didn’t work out.