Navigating the complex world of Hollywood is no easy task for actors, and when it comes to figuring out a potential project to take on (or turn down), movie stars have often been left feeling regret over their decisions. There is truly no way of knowing whether or not a film will be a box office stud or dud, and sometimes actors dodge a bullet when they pass on appearing in a flick. Conversely, they can also miss out on a major career opportunity by saying no.
Matt Damon made headlines when he revealed that he missed out on a lucrative payout had he agreed to star in James Cameron’s sci-fi wonder Avatar, just like Oscar-winner Rusell Crowe turned down a potentially life-changing sum of money when he opted out of headlining Peter Jackson’s groundbreaking The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Here are 10 actors who turned down huge amounts of money.
10 Matt Damon
Turned Down a 10% Stake in Avatar’s Profits
Matt Damon is no stranger to starring in blockbuster films, having appeared in hits like Saving Private Ryan, the Bourne franchise, and the Ocean’s trilogy, yet one epic series may forever remain a sore spot for the Oscar-winning actor: James Cameron’s Avatar. In Hollywood, movie stars pass on major movie productions all the time (which can prove to be both a blessing and a curse), yet few have said no to such a lucrative payout like Damon did with the sci-fi extravaganza.
An Unfathomable Potential Pay-Day
Damon was approached by Cameron himself to headline the trailblazing spectacle, offering the veteran actor a 10% stake in the film’s profits to portray the lead character Jake Sully. Despite being interested in the script and wanting to work with the revered director, Damon was unable to agree to join Avatar because he was still committed to the Jason Bourne movies and couldn’t morally leave the franchise high and dry.
Avatar went on to gross over $2.9 billion worldwide and is the highest-grossing film of all time, yet it seems as though Damon can laugh about the whole ordeal now. While at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, the actor amusingly revealed:
“I was offered a little movie called
Avatar
, James Cameron offered me 10% of it. I will go down in history… you will never meet an actor who turned down more money.”
9 Jerry Seinfeld
Turned Down $110 Million For More Seinfeld
Widely considered to be one of the most influential and greatest shows to ever grace the small screen, the sitcom Seinfeld was a knockout with both critics and audiences throughout its nine sensational seasons and delighted viewers week-after week with its quirky humor and hijinks.
Created by both Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the comedy was famously described as “a show about nothing” and followed a misfit group of Manhattan pals as they experience the highs-and-lows of everyday life.
Saying No to Record-Setting Money
After dominating the ratings throughout its spectacular TV tenure and winning countless accolades including 10 Primetime Emmys and three Golden Globes, the stars of Seinfeld decided to say goodbye and took their final bow in 1998.
However, if NBC had gotten its way the sitcom would have gone on for another year and an additional tenth season. The network offered Seinfeld a whopping $110 million to return for one more installment, which would have been a record $5 million an episode, yet the comedian decline the lucrative deal. NBC President of Entertainment Warren Littlefield said of Seinfeld’s decision:
“We offered him $5 million an episode. We didn’t mess around. What we put on the table was unheard of. We went in there with a staggering sum and there was tremendous confidence that no one could walk away from it. He came to me and said, ‘I don’t have a life, I’m not married, I don’t have kids.’ We gave it everything we had, he was tempted, but in the end it was a quality of life decision.”
8 Keanu Reeves
Turned Down $12 million for Speed 2: Cruise Control
Long before he was starring as a highly-skilled assassin in the electrifying John Wick franchise, Keanu Reeves was working on his action hero status by appearing in the adrenaline-pumping thriller Speed.
Not only did the exciting ’90s flick establish Sandra Bullock as a leading lady, but it also showed moviegoers that Reeves could master the action world and make it look easy. Speed grossed over $350 million and was a critically-acclaimed cinema darling, winning two Oscars and being lauded as a standout in the genre.
Reeves Dodges a Movie Bullet
Hoping to capitalize on the massive success of the original hit, the studio decided to move forward with a sequel despite director Jan de Bont feeling it was a “one time story” with no real potential for a follow-up; the filmmaker was contractually obligated to helm the sequel. Bullock initially turned down the offer to appear in Speed 2: Cruise Control but eventually agreed, though Reeves passed on reprising his role of Jack Traven that would have fetched him a $12 million payday.
The actor did not like the script and felt financially secure after starring in the original, and also did not feel “ready to mentally and physically” star in another action flick at that time. He would later say that Fox was “furious” over his choice to decline the offer and even put out “propaganda” against him to tarnish his reputation.
The decision proved to be a smart one for Reeves, as Speed 2: Cruise Control was a box office bomb and has since gone on to be considered one of the worst sequels ever made.
7 Michael Keaton
Turned Down $15 Million to Play Bruce Wayne Again in Batman: Forever
Michael Keaton completely transformed his Hollywood image when he took on the iconic role of the caped crusader Bruce Wayne in Tim Burton’s 1989 film Batman.
Despite initially receiving heavy backlash from fans when his casting was announced, when the highly-anticipated superhero classic finally premiered in theaters the naysayers were quickly silenced. Audiences were blown away by Keaton’s stoic and tortured portrayal of the legendary DC character, and Batman went on to gross over $400 million at the box office worldwide.
Keaton vs. Schumacher
Keaton would ultimately reprise his role for the 1992 sequel Batman Returns, reuniting with Burton in the buzzed-about follow-up that took on a more edgy and dark tone and featured the Penguin and Catwoman. When Burton was dropped as the director for the third film Batman Forever and replaced by Joel Schumacher, Keaton did not like the screenplay and direction the series was going in.
He was offered $15 million to once again portray Bruce Wayne, but walked away after clashing with Schumacher’s vision; Keaton was subsequently replaced by Val Kilmer. The actor reflected on his clashing with the late director in 2022, revealing in an interview:
“I remember one of the things that I walked away going, ‘Oh boy, I can’t do this.’ He asked me, ‘I don’t understand why everything has to be so dark and everything so sad,’ and I went, ‘Wait a minute, do you know how this guy got to be Batman? Have you read… I mean, it’s pretty simple.'”
6 Dave Chappelle
Turned Down $50 Million for More Chappelle’s Show
Walking away from a multi-million dollar comedy empire isn’t an easy choice to make, and both the media and fans were left stunned when comedian Dave Chappelle abruptly put an end to his smash hit sketch series Chappelle’s Show in 2005.
After keeping audiences laughing for two seasons with side-splitting original characters like drug addict Tyrone Biggums and cocaine dealer Tron Carter, the performer shocked the world when he left during production of season three and went on a vacation to South Africa.
Chappelle Struggles with Debilitating Stress
The entertainment industry and tabloids swiftly speculated that Chappelle was experiencing a mental problem or was struggling with drugs, yet the comedian had previously been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the overall direction of the show and the amount of stress it caused him.
He had been open with producers over his professional and ethical concerns and frustrations with Chappelle’s Show, prompting the unprecedented departure. During his crucial trip and break from Hollywood, Chappelle told Time:
“Coming here, I don’t have the distractions of fame. It quiets the ego down. I’m interested in the kind of person I’ve got to become. I want to be well-rounded and the industry is a place of extremes. I want to be well-balanced. I’ve got to check my intentions, man.”
Quitting the show meant that Chappelle was turning down a $50 million contract with Comedy Central, and his surprising decision to walk away also led to an intense rift with his frequent collaborator Neal Brennon, who co-wrote and co-directed the acclaimed sketch series. Chappelle allegedly did not give Brennon a heads-up about his decision, which caused a strain in their relationship and led to Brennon having to compile remaining sketches to create a third and final season.
5 Sean Connery
Turned Down $30 Million + 15% Stake in Lord of the Rings
Cinema icon Sean Connery was a decorated and highly-revered performer who won an Academy Award and three Golden Globes over the course of his illustrious career, having notably been the first actor to portray the legendary secret agent James Bond on screen.
When Peter Jackson began production on his epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings, Connery was the director’s first choice for the role of Gandalf, the sage and powerful Istari wizard who mentors the young hobbit Frodo Baggins.
Connery Gets Lost in Creative Translation
Jackson and the studio presented the veteran actor with a lucrative deal to star as Gandalf, offering Connery $30 million and a 15% stake of the box-office earnings for the series.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy grossed a whopping $2.981 billion worldwide and is universally considered to be one of the finest film franchises of all time; Connery would have roughly netted a mind-boggling $447 million for his involvement in the trilogy had he agreed to play Gandalf. However, he ultimately passed on the project because he simply did not understand the material.
Years later after the trilogy was completed, Connery still stood by his decision to refuse the role and remained adamant that he couldn’t comprehend the point of the series. In a 2012 interview with the New Zealand Herald, the actor commended Ian McKellen (who ultimately starred as Gandalf) and reflected on his choice:
“I read the book. I read the script. I saw the movie. I still don’t understand it. Ian McKellen, I believe, is marvelous in it.”
4 Jodie Foster
Turn Down $20 Million to Come Back as Clarice Starling in Hannibal
Jonathan Demme’s 1991 psychological horror masterpiece The Silence of the Lambs kept audiences on the edge of their seats as they anxiously watched FBI trainee Clarice Starling engage in a taut cat-and-mouse game with the cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter.
The big-screen adaptation of the Thomas Harris novel made Academy Award history, becoming just the third and most recent film to win the prestigious award in all the major five categories; both Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins took home Oscars for their brilliant performances in the critically lauded picture.
A Graphic & Deeply Unsettling Sequel
A decade after The Silence of the Lambs dominated both the box office and awards season, the studio decided to adapt Harris’ 1999 sequel Hannibal, hoping to reunite Foster and Hopkins on-screen.
Though both actors had expressed interest in a potential return, Foster ended up not reprising her role as Clarice Starling for a few reasons: she had a previous commitment to another project and was disturbed by the novel’s extremely graphic content. Demme walking away from directing duties also influenced Foster, and she ended up turning down $20 to star in Hannibal; Julianne Moore would then take over the role. Foster told Games Radar in 2005:
“The official reason I didn’t do
Hannibal
is I was doing another movie,
Flora Plum
[a long-cherished project that has yet to be shot]. So I get to say, in a nice, dignified way, that I wasn’t available when that movie was being shot. But Clarice meant so much to Jonathan and I, she really did, and I know it sounds kind of strange to say but there was no way that either of us could really trample on her.”
3 Jim Parsons
Turned Down $50 Million for More Big Bang Theory
After 12 years of starring as the quirky and brilliant theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper in the groundbreaking sitcom The Big Bang Theory, lead star Jim Parsons felt that his time on the feel-good comedy had run its course.
The sitcom famously followed Cooper and his friend and fellow physicist Leonard Hofstadter as they and their pals navigate social life outside their academic professions while developing a friendship with beautiful waitress Penny who moves in down the hall. After starring in the show for 12 seasons, Parsons was ready to move on to new career opportunities.
Parson’s Sudden Decision to Leave
In 2018, Parsons was offered a new contract worth $50 million to star in seasons 13 and 14 but he ultimately refused the offer from creator Chuck Lorre. The prominent TV producer then summoned the cast members to his office after a table read where he allowed Parsons to tearfully informed his co-stars on his decision to end the sitcom after 12 seasons.
Lorre had said he would not continue with the show without the three original leads (Parsons, Johnny Galecki, and Kaley Cuoco) and despite trying to change his mind, Parsons remained set in his decision. The actor expressed his “intense gratitude” for the cast and crew, and wrote in a social media post:
“It is hard (really impossible, actually) to really accept that this is a picture of the first of the final 24 episodes we will shoot for. I will miss all of you and all of this more than I can say and more than I can know at this time.”
2 Will Ferrell
Turned Down $29 million for Elf 2
A bona fide Christmas classic and one of comedian Will Ferrell‘s most iconic and celebrated performances, the 2003 holiday hit Elf has emerged as a must-watch for fans of the festive season and is one of the most cherished Christmas films of all time.
In the wholesome and endearing flick, Ferrell wonderfully portrays the eccentric Buddy, who was raised by elves and sets off to New York City as an adult to track down his biological father (James Caan). A critical and commercial triumph, the positive legacy of Elf caused rumors of a potential sequel to swirl.
Ferrell Wants to Leave the Classic Alone
While there was massive interest by both director Jon Favreau and James Caan to return for a follow-up, Ferrell was allegedly unimpressed by the screenplay for the sequel and felt that the premise was just “rehashed.” The hilarious funny man would express his thoughts on Elf 2: Buddy Saves Christmas over the years, stating in 2013 on Watch What Happens Live: “I just think it would look slightly pathetic if I tried to squeeze back in the elf tights. Buddy the middle-aged elf.”
The sensational Saturday Night Live alum further elaborated on his decision to turn down the $29 million pay day in a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, feeling it would go against his moral compass if he had accepted the offer to star in the sequel. He told the publication:
“I would have had to promote the movie from an honest place, which would’ve been, like, ‘Oh no, it’s not good. I just couldn’t turn down that much money. And I thought, ‘Can I actually say those words? I don’t think I can, so I guess I can’t do the movie.’”
1 Russell Crowe (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
Turned Down 10% Profits (Roughly $100 million) for Lord of the Rings
Like fellow acting great Sean Connery, Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe also turned down a massive pay-out opportunity had he joined Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Crowe was one of a handful of Hollywood leading men eyed to star as Aragorn in the thrilling film series, after Stuart Townsend was replaced in the role due to Jackson realizing that the actor was too young. Producers then pushed for Crowe to sign on as the powerful and heroic character, yet the movie star had other plans.
Failed Connection Between Crowe & Jackson
Had Crowe ended up accepting the role in the blockbuster franchise, he would have earned around $100 million (10% of the trilogy’s earnings) for portraying Aragorn. The decorated actor ended up declining the offer in large part out of fear of being typecast, as he felt the character was similar to his role in Gladiator. Crowe also believed that he was not Jackson’s first choice to takeover the part, telling Howard Stern in a 2019 interview:
“I didn’t think Peter Jackson wanted me on that film. I am talking to him on the phone, it is like, I don’t think he even knows what I have done, […] I just knew that my instinct was that he had somebody else in mind…which turned out to be Viggo, and he should be allowed to hire the actor who he wants.”
As previously mentioned, the epic fantasy trilogy went on to rake in $2.981 billion at the box office and would have fetched Crowe a hefty $100 million paycheck. Stern asked the actor whether or not he had any regrets over his decision to say no to the franchise, to which Crowe replied, “never thought about it — only in situations like interviews where people are polite and kind enough to add s*** up for me.” Stream on Max
