Matt Damon knows his stuff when it comes to kicking butt on camera, thanks to his lengthy stint as superspy Jason Bourne. So, producers offered him the chance to play the iconic role of Harvey Dent, AKA Two-Face, in ‘The Dark Knight’ – but he had to pass it up. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to play the part, because he did tell MTV he’s a Christopher Nolan fan, but scheduling issues prevented him from accepting.
The A-lister gave an interview after the film came out and said that Aaron Eckhart, who ended up with the role, did a great job and obviously the movie “didn’t suffer.” No, no it did not. ‘The Dark Knight’ is one of the best Batman films of all time.
Pierce Brosnan as Batman
Pierce Brosnan has played the hunky protagonist in his fair share of action movies, including his infamous role as 007 in 'Goldeneye' and 'The World is Not Enough'. But when he was given the opportunity to play billionaire vigilante Bruce Wayne in the 1989 film by Tim Burton, he shot it down – and just wait until you hear why.
Brosnan, ever the gentleman, told ABC that he couldn’t take the role seriously, which is why he turned it down. In fact, his exact words were, “any man who wears his underpants outside of his pants can’t be taken seriously.” But as it turns out, he may still turn up in the MCU after all, as Alfred in the upcoming 'The Batman' movie, starring Robert Pattinson. That’s a role that the distinguished actor is much more suited for, don’t you think?
Jake Gyllenhaal as Rick Flag
Originally, Tom Hardy was set to play the role of badass military man Rick Flag in 'Suicide Squad'. And when he backed out, guess who was next in line? Yep, Jake Gyllenhaal. But the 'Nightcrawler' actor didn’t accept, and no one’s really sure why not. When asked about it, he basically just said “nope,” he didn’t take it.
Jake got another shot at joining the world of superheroes and supervillains, though, this time with Marvel rather than DC. He hit the big screen as Mysterio in 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' in June, teaming up with Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Holland and Zendaya for the sequel to 'Homecoming'. Most recently, the actor starred alongside Carey Mulligan in the award-winning film 'Wildlife' that came out in 2018.
Rikki Lee Travolta: Thor
This actor may be a little less known than the majority of names on this list, but he’s a talented guy, nonetheless. Rikki Lee is the nephew of Hollywood icon John Travolta, which gave him a leg up in the industry. He’s been in a few films, including 'Crime Fiction', but for the most part, he acts on stage (like in 'Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat') and writes plays, himself. Rikki does have formal training, a hard bod just like the director wanted in 'Thor' – which is why he was on the list of actors up for the role.
But no matter how good of an actor he and the others in the running were, none of that mattered once Chris Hemsworth auditioned. As soon as he showed up on the scene and displayed his comedic badassery, the contest was over.
Eliza Dushku as Black Widow
Eliza Dushku is pretty much known for playing the part of the gorgeous femme fatale. She had her breakout role as Faith, the bad girl on 'Buffy: The Vampire Slayer', and years later went on to play super spy Echo in Joss Whedon’s 'Dollhouse' – a role that she even learned some Russian for. But that didn’t make much of a difference to studio execs in charge of casting for the role of the Black Widow in Marvel’s 'Iron Man 2'.
When Dushku heard the role was available, she took to the Howard Stern Radio Show to throw her hat in the ring. She told the audience that she was perfect for the role and that they just needed to “get into it.” She’s not wrong – Eliza would’ve made a great Black Widow.