TV Roles That Had been Virtually Performed by a Completely different Actor

8 SIMPLE RULES FOR DATING MY TEENAGE DAUGHTER

5 years after Roseanne‘s authentic run wrapped, John Goodman was on the quick listing to play household patriarch Paul Hennessy — till Three’s Firm funnyman John Ritter, coming off a sequence of movies/TV-movies, sought a sitcom comeback. “You’re taking John Ritter any time you may get John Ritter,” EP Flody Suarez said on the time. (Goodman would finally have 8 Easy Guidelines star Katey Sagal as a TV spouse on The Conners.)

THE AFFAIR

Although Colin Donnell finally performed Scotty Lockhart in The Affair‘s first two seasons, he initially acquired near taking part in Cole, a task that later went to Joshua Jackson. “Colin truly had are available in and auditioned for Cole a bunch of occasions. However he wasn’t fairly proper,” sequence co-creator Sarah Treem revealed in an Instagram story forward of the sequence finale. “However I liked him a lot as an actor that I truly wrote Scotty for him…. I believed he was so good, and I didn’t wish to lose him.”

ARROW

As Anna Hopkins instructed TVLine in our Memories From the Set feature, she first auditioned to play Arrow‘s Sara Lance. The half went to Caity Lotz, however Hopkins was later introduced in to learn for the a part of a “journalist”… which she finally discovered was code for Samantha Clayton, the mom of Oliver’s secret son William!

THE BIG BANG THEORY

Earlier than Johnny Galecki was solid as Sheldon’s extraordinarily affected person roommate, the producers pursued former Residence Alone star Maculay Culkin. “There’s a particular ethereal high quality to that actor that I believed is perhaps nice,” Large Bang co-creator Chuck Lorre shared in The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series (order it here). Added fellow co-creator Invoice Prady: “We had a terrific assembly with Macaulay… after which we heard that he had determined he wasn’t .”

Different Virtually-Leonards: Kevin Sussman, who would go on to play comedian e book retailer proprietor Stuart, was additionally up for the position of Leonard within the authentic 2006 pilot, as was John Ross Bowie (aka Barry Kripke), who got here in to learn not as soon as, however twice.

THE BIG BANG THEORY

BREAKING BAD

As an alternative of “XOXO,” Penn Badgley almost dabbled in C₁₀H₁₅N, having auditioned for the position of Breaking Dangerous‘s Jesse Pinkman. “It was between me and Aaron Paul, we examined,” Badgley shared within the rapid-fire BuzzFeed Q&A (watch above).  “And really, that was the very best tv script I’d learn at that time. That was the one which acquired away.” Badgley as a substitute continued his run as Gossip Woman‘s Dan.

CHUCK

Earlier than he ended up in Pawnee, Indiana, Parks and Recreation‘s Chris Pratt may have performed the title position on NBC’s Chuck — nevertheless it wasn’t meant to be. “He was the primary man I needed to play Chuck,” sequence co-creator Josh Schwartz instructed the now-defunct HitFix in 2014. “However as destiny would have it, he was destined to protect the galaxy, not the Purchase Extra. And may I add, it couldn’t occur to a nicer man.”

DAWSON’S CREEK

The Dawson’s Creek ensemble nearly regarded very completely different — and one of many predominant solid members almost crammed one other position. In 2018, sequence creator Kevin Williamson revealed to Entertainment Weekly that Katherine Heigl nearly performed Jen Lindley as a substitute of Michelle Williams. “Though [Heigl] was youthful, I simply suppose she was extra mature,” Williamson shared.”“She gave an awesome audition, I keep in mind we had been all form of like, ‘Wow, she’s good.’”

In the end, Williams’ sturdy display take a look at landed her the position of Jen as a substitute — and Katie Holmes’ spectacular audition, which she recorded at house and submitted to the casting crew, gained her the position of Joey Potter over Williamson’s authentic first selection, Selma Blair. Joshua Jackson, in the meantime, was almost solid as Dawson Leery, however he ended up taking part in Pacey Witter when The WB didn’t suppose Jackson was the fitting match for the lead.

DC’S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

As author Tyron B. Carter shared on Twitter, the singer Ashanti — whose earlier performing credit embody Military Wives — auditioned for the position of Amaya aka Vixen, which finally went to Maisie Richardson-Sellers.

ER

John Stamos may have scrubbed in at County Basic six years previous to Tony Gates’ debut — that was if he hadn’t botched the audition. As revealed throughout a 2008 Paley Middle panel commemorating the medical drama’s three hundredth episode, Stamos initially tried out for the position of Dave Malucci forward of Season 6. “It was proper after Full Home and [executive producer] John [Wells] had been speaking to me about approaching the present,” the actor recalled. “They made me are available in and audition, and I used to be so terrible… They stated, ‘thanks,’ and that was it.” The half went to Erik Palladino, and Stamos got here aboard as a distinct character in Season 12.

FAMILY GUY

Lengthy earlier than he lorded over the Shameless Gallagher clan (the place he would amass 5 Emmy nominations to go along with his Fargo Oscar nod), William H. Macy was eyed to play the Griffins’ household pet — however Household Man creator Seth MacFarlane opted to lend his personal voice to the pooch as a substitute. “I look again and I’m like, ‘How cocky and smug should I’ve been at 24 to have Invoice Macy audition for Brian and go, ‘You already know what? I don’t suppose it’s working and I’m going to do it myself’?” recalled MacFarlane. “The hubris is to not be believed!”

FAMILY TIES

On the Artios Awards in 2013, Household Ties star Michael J. Fox revealed that Matthew Broderick was nearly solid as Alex P. Keaton — and the 2 actors usually discovered themselves competing for different roles, as effectively. “He’d often go in first for auditions, and also you’d hear fingers shaking,” Fox stated. “I used to be at all times dropping jobs to Matthew Broderick.” However Broderick was unavailable for Household Ties, and Fox went on to attain the position (and three Emmys!).

THE FLASH

Though The Flash‘s casting crew instantly preferred Candice Patton for Iris, “we had been too early on within the course of to solid her,” casting director David Rapaport instructed BuzzFeed in 2015. Keke Palmer (Scream Queens) was among the many actresses who examined for the position within the meantime, however she “felt slightly too younger subsequent to Grant [Gustin],” Rapaport stated. Later, Patton was introduced again in for an additional chemistry learn with Gustin, and “it simply made complete sense” to solid her as Iris.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS

Former Walker and The 100 star Lindsey Morgan labored as an additional on the critically acclaimed drama earlier than touchdown an audition for Epyck Sanders, a troubled scholar at East Dillon Excessive within the remaining season. “I did very well, after which it was all the way down to me and the woman who acquired it [Emily Rios],” Morgan instructed TVLine. “I met Peter Berg and the producers, and I had nothing on my résumé, however simply that auditioning expertise gave me sufficient confidence to be like, ‘OK, perhaps I can go to LA. Perhaps I can actually pursue performing.’”

FRIENDS

Ross Geller nearly had a really completely different lobster: Saved by the Bell alum Tiffani Thiessen! On an episode of You Up With Nikki Glaser in 2018, Thiessen shared that she examined for Pals‘ Rachel Inexperienced, however “I used to be just a bit too younger” compared to the remainder of the solid.

GAME OF THRONES

Iwan Rheon’s eventual Recreation of Thrones position was that of Ramsay Bolton, one of many sequence’ most despicable villains. However that was very almost not the case: In a 2016 chat with Interview, Rheon revealed that he was up for the position of Jon Snow initially, and “it was between me and Equipment [Harington], which is sort of loopy.” Although Rheon may have portrayed one in all Thrones‘ most beloved characters (as a substitute of a deeply hated one), the actor stated “they made the fitting selection; it might’ve been a really completely different Jon Snow if I’d performed him.”

GENERAL HOSPITAL

A sizzling commodity after his 1987-89 run as Nico Kelly on All My Youngsters, Maurice Benard was given his decide of two mobsters to play on the Port Charles-set cleaning soap again in ’93: the short-term position of Sonny Corinthos and the contract a part of Damian Smith. For the reason that future Emmy winner didn’t intend to stay round lengthy, he selected the previous, leaving the latter to Santa Barbara alum Leigh J. McCloskey. Mockingly, Damian was killed off solely three years later; nearly three a long time on, Sonny isn’t simply nonetheless on the present, he virtually is the present.

GILMORE GIRLS

Gilmore followers know Mädchen Amick as Sherry Tinsdale, the polarizing love curiosity of David Sutcliffe’s Christopher. However, as Amick divulged to TVLine, “I truly acquired actually far within the testing course of and nearly acquired the a part of Lorelai.” Amick misplaced out to Lauren Graham as a result of “the community stated I didn’t appear sufficiently old to be a mom,” however she discovered it “actually cool that Amy [Sherman-Palladino] introduced me again in for [Sherry].”

THE GOOD WIFE

Not one however two well-known actresses handed on taking part in The Good Spouse‘s Alicia Florrick earlier than Julianna Margulies acquired the half. Throughout a Hollywood Reporter roundtable, Margulies joked that she was the casting crew’s “sloppy thirds” after each Helen Hunt and Ashley Judd turned down the position. “I needed to hate it, as a result of you realize, ‘F—okay you! You didn’t need me to start with,’” Margulies confessed. “However my agent stated an awesome factor: ‘Nobody will know after they watch this present that Helen Hunt was provided it earlier than you.’”

GOSSIP GIRL

XOXO… Alden Ehrenreich? The Solo star was truly casting director David Rapaport’s first option to play Dan on Gossip Woman, fairly than Penn Badgley. “Earlier than Penn was concerned, I desperately needed Alden Ehrenreich to play Dan,” Rapaport instructed Entertainment Weekly, although producers finally thought Ehrenreich (at 5-foot-9) wasn’t tall sufficient to play a love curiosity for Blake Vigorous (who’s 5-foot-10).

GREY’S ANATOMY

Rob Lowe may have been scrubbing in as Gray’s Anatomy‘s Derek Shepherd, aka McDreamy. However throughout a podcast interview with Marc Maron, Lowe confessed that he turned the position down — and “that’s most likely value me $70 million,” he joked. After watching the Gray’s pilot, although, Lowe believed he’d made the fitting resolution: “After they began calling the good-looking physician ‘McDreamy,’ I used to be like, ‘Yeah, that’s not for me.’”

And one other sequence may have starred Lowe if issues had shaken out otherwise: FX’s Nip/Tuck. On the Tv Critics Affiliation press tour, Lowe stated that Ryan Murphy had written Nip/Tuck particularly with him in thoughts — however Lowe’s brokers “didn’t give it to me,” and Julian McMahon went on to play Dr. Christian Troy as a substitute.

GREY’S ANATOMY

Shortly earlier than she auditioned for Misplaced (for the position of Kate, truly), Yunjin Kim regarded to wash in at ABC’s new medical drama, Gray’s Anatomy. “I didn’t audition for [Cristina Yang], it was for Izzie,” Kim instructed EW.com. “And I acquired a callback.”

Kim wound up wowing Misplaced boss J.J. Abrams sufficient to not play Kate however have the position of Solar created for her. And whereas she didn’t at first cancel her Gray’s callback, she ended up skipping it. (And the position of Izzy in fact finally went to Katherine Heigl.)

JANE THE VIRGIN

As Nicholas Gonzalez shared with TVLine, he was within the working to play Jane the Virgin‘s Rafael Solano, a task finally crammed by Justin Baldoni. However regardless of dropping out on that half, Gonzalez appeared in three Season 1 episodes as Marco, a love curiosity for Andrea Navedo’s Xo. “There simply wasn’t so much to the character as a result of he was the right man,” Gonzalez stated. “There wasn’t the fireplace with them like there was [between Xo and Rogelio], however that’s what he was there for.”

KILLING EVE

The SNL vet instructed The Hollywood Reporter in June 2022 that she had been approached to star in Killing Eve, filling the title position for which Gray’s Anatomy alum Sandra Oh would finally win a Golden Globe and amass 4 Emmy nods. Rudolph was a superfan of Killing Eve creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, however as a mother of 4 (the youngest of which was age 4 on the time), “there was no approach I used to be about to maneuver to Europe for months,” she defined. “Like, how?”

LOST

You most likely know Cobie Smulders finest as How I Met Your Mom‘s Robin Scherbatsky… however you may have recognized her as Misplaced‘s Kate Austen, as Smulders herself revealed to E! News in 2014. “[Evangeline Lilly and I] had been each testing for Misplaced,” the actress shared, joking that Lilly “owes so much to me as a result of I went in and I bombed the audition.”

NCIS

Although NCIS followers watched Pauley Perrette play Abby Sciuto for years, the forensic scientist was nearly portrayed by Katee Sackhoff as a substitute. TVLine has discovered that Sackhoff auditioned for Abby when casting for the position had simply begun — however she had already examined for Battlestar Galactica, too. Sackhoff was finally solid on BSG as Kara Thrace, and Perrette landed the NCIS gig as a substitute.

THE O.C.

Another future stars nearly took up residence in Ryan Atwood’s pool home. On the rewatch podcast Welcome to the O.C., Bitches!, casting director Patrick Rush instructed hosts Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke concerning the hopefuls who auditioned for Ben McKenzie’s position. “We noticed Garrett Hedlund for that half and we needed to check him, however he acquired Troy, the Brad Pitt film, on the similar time that we needed to check him,” Rush shared. Along with This Is Us‘ Justin Hartley, Chris Pine additionally learn for the character, and “he was actually, actually, actually good, however — that is painful — on the time, Chris Pine’s pores and skin was actually, actually dangerous and that broke my coronary heart as a result of I used to be a child with pimples. I keep in mind pondering he was so good.”

THE O.C.

Wilson Bethel solely appeared in a single O.C. episode as a personality named Brad, however “I had initially examined for the Ryan position, which clearly I didn’t get,” he told TVLine. What’s extra, Brad was supposed to seem in a number of episodes, however Bethel slept by means of a number of alarm clocks throughout someday of filming and arrived on set hours late, prompting producers to dismiss him from the present. “They form of kicked me this different position as a scraps-on-the-table form of factor,” Bethel stated of dropping the Ryan character to Ben McKenzie, including with fun that “it was presupposed to be a recurring position, after which I proved to them I used to be less than the duty.”

ONE TREE HILL

Husband and spouse Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton Morgan may have been One Tree Hill costars! On the rewatch podcast Drama Queens, the actress revealed that “my husband, Jeffrey, auditioned for [Keith Scott].” Had the position not finally gone to Craig Sheffer and “had [Jeff] proven up in these tight denims that Sheff was carrying, I might’ve positively had children earlier,” Burton Morgan added with fun.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

It was nearly Katie Holmes, and never Taylor Schilling, who served time at Litchfield Penitentiary in Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black. “I’m an enormous fan of [Holmes’]…. I met together with her [about playing Piper],” OITNB creator Jenji Kohan instructed E! News in 2014. However Holmes “had different issues to do” on the time, per Kohan, who admitted that “at first, nobody knew what this [show] was.”

THE ORIGINALS

When casting the position of vamp Marcel Gerard within the backdoor pilot for the Vampire Diaries spinoff, a future Recreation of Thrones and The Mandalorian star captured government producer Julie Plec’s consideration. “One of many different individuals who learn reverse Charles [Michael Davis] for that half was Pedro Pascal, who I liked,” Plec instructed EW.com. Though the EP was “obsessed” with the actor, Pascal “was simply on the older facet,” she defined.

SEX AND THE CITY

We couldn’t assist however surprise: What would Intercourse and the Metropolis have been like if Lisa Edelstein performed Carrie Bradshaw? As Edelstein instructed Access Hollywood in 2016, she acquired so near touchdown the position {that a} contract had been drawn up — however her casting was depending on whether or not Sarah Jessica Parker needed to signal on to the present. After all, Parker did say sure, and Edelstein revealed that she discovered it “too painful” to ever watch Intercourse and the Metropolis after she missed out on starring in it.

SMALLVILLE

Earlier than he turned a CW staple as Supernatural‘s Dean Winchester, Jensen Ackles almost scored one other iconic position on the community: Smallville‘s Clark Kent. “It acquired fairly shut, and really got here all the way down to Tom [Welling] and me,” Ackles revealed in 2004. “We had to return a few occasions to the community and so they finally went with Tom, which I believed made sense as a result of he appears extra the half than I do… I’d say they made the fitting selection.” However Smallville later discovered an element for Ackles, casting him as villain Jason Teague in Season 4.

SMALLVILLE

Talking of Smallville, Clark wasn’t the one character who was nearly portrayed by another person. Throughout a podcast interview with Michael Rosenbaum, who performed Lex Luthor through the drama’s run, Zachary Levi shared that he additionally examined for Lex and “actually thought I used to be going to get that job.” However he went on to say that Rosenbaum was “improbable” within the position, including: “It wasn’t my path” to play the villainous character — although it was his path to play Chuck‘s Chuck Bartowski, a task he held whereas Smallville was nonetheless on the air.

STRANGER THINGS

Earlier than he thought of embarking for the Outer Banks, Chase Stokes took a stab at exploring the Upside Down. “I truly learn for [Stranger Things‘] Steve Harrington and forgot all of the traces and completely effed up the audition,” Stokes shared with Entry Hollywood at a Poguelandia fan occasion (watch video beneath). “I drove eight hours from Atlanta again to Orlando regretting each second of my life on that.” The position of supremely coiffed Steve wound up going to Joe Keery, who Stokes hailed as “an absolute legend.”

#ChaseStokes reveals how he “effed up” his #StrangerThings audition. #OBX pic.twitter.com/M5BBxob8SX

— Entry Hollywood (@accesshollywood) February 22, 2023

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TEEN WOLF

“I keep in mind auditioning for Teen Wolf on a regular basis and getting actually shut and by no means getting chosen,” Centineo told MTV in January 2023. “I auditioned for the pilot, perhaps for Tyler’s position or perhaps Dylan’s position, in some unspecified time in the future. There have been occasions when the casting director was like, ‘You’re my selection! I would like you to get it!’ After which for some cause, they only didn’t need me on the present. However shout out [to] them, as a result of they only did a film. And my boy Dylan Sprayberry is in it, and he’s the person and I really like him. Everyone on that present is approach too horny.”

(Actually, we may see Centineo as both Scott or Stiles. Or anybody within the Teen Wolf universe for that matter. How did this not occur?!)

TRUE BLOOD

Jennifer Lawrence, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jessica Chastain all have one thing in frequent (except for their many collective Oscar nominations): All of them got here near starring in HBO’s True Blood. Sequence creator Alan Ball instructed The Hollywood Reporter that he needed Lawrence to play werepanther Crystal Norris, however at 17 years outdated, the actress was a bit too younger to play the girlfriend of Ryan Kwanten’s Jason. Cumberbatch and Chastain, in the meantime, respectively learn for the roles of Invoice and Sookie, which went to Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin in the long run.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES

We are able to’t think about anybody aside from Nina Dobrev taking part in Elena (and Katherine… and Amara) on The Vampire Diaries, so it completely blows our thoughts to suppose that each Ashlee Simpson and Ashley Tisdale almost nabbed the position themselves. The present was reportedly conceived as a car for Simpson from the bounce, a plan which clearly didn’t come to fruition, whereas Tisdale allegedly turned it down for an additional CW sequence — Hellcats.

THE WHITE LOTUS

Evan Peters nearly landed himself a free journey to Italy, to play husband Ethan to Aubrey Plaza’s Harper in Season 2 of the HBO thriller dramedy. “That was the final half we solid within the season,” government producer David Bernad instructed Deadline, “and initially it was presupposed to be Evan Peters, however for no matter cause – scheduling or timing – it didn’t work out.” Decided to keep away from “acquainted casting,” Bernad stated that he was “Googling at 4 am and I got here throughout Will Sharpe in Giri/Haji, which is an excellent present within the UK. I’d by no means seen him earlier than and he was simply extremely proficient… form of a chameleon.”