- Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, 1990. Hurley, Patsy Kensit, Nicole Kidman, Amanda Pays, Joely Richardson, Ally Sheedy were in the Sherwood mix for Maid Marian – won by an Italo-American! Well, two French stars, Sophie Marceau and Mathilda May, had also been seen.
- Laura Dern, Jurassic Park, 1992.
- Izabella Scorupco, GoldenEye, 1995.
- Nicollette Sheridan, Spy Hard, 1995. In the ZAZ fashion, but without the ZAZ style!
- Famke Janssen, House On Haunted Hill, 1999. Suddenly, Geoffrey Rush (channeling Vincent Price, star of the original 1959 William Castle horror), had a new wife. Janssen succeeded the UK’s Hurley as Evelyn Stockard-Price – described by San Francisco Chronicle critic Mick LaSalle as “a woman only a masochist could love.” Janssen could do her own stunts. And did.
- Renée Zellweger, Bridget Jones’s Diary, 2000. Far too beautiful even if she dared to put on 20 pounds like Zellweger. At least she was British unlike such diarist ideas as the Arquette sisters, Julie Benz, Selma Blair, Nicollette Sheridan, etc.
- Angelina Jolie, Lara Croft, Tomb Raider, 2000. For the girls, Lara Croft is their James Bond. Well, more of a sexy Indiana Jones. And 22 hopefuls wanted to bringther sassy, video-game adventurer to life. Demi More was, perhaps, the most keen, but who was simply disregarded. Christina Applegate, Drew Barrymore, Victoria Beckham, Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Nicole Eggert, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Kate Hudson, Elizabeth Hurley, Ashley Judd, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anna Nicole Smith (a joke, surely), Catherine Zeta-Jones were considered. Fairuza Balk, Natalie Cassidy, Kirsten Dunst and Milla Jovovich auditioned while Denise Richards, Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman and Liv Tyler simply refused. And Lara’s guy (who fled the sequel) was Daniel Craig – complete with a Walther PPK pistol that he would use again as 007 in Casino Royale, 2005.
- Eva Green, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, 2013. Ava Lord in Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez’ Sin City sequel was written for Angelina Jolie with 14 back-ups: Green, Hurley, Amy Adams, Elizabeth Banks, Kate Beckinsale, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose McGowan, Sofia Vergara, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 8