- Sydney Chaplin, The Adding Machine, 1969. Ringo as a cop? Director Jerome Epstein (Chaplin’s most recent producer) also lost Paul McCartney as Shrdlu from the weak UK film version of Elmer Rice’s play about a human adding machine (Milo O’Shea) being replaced at work by a mechanical adding machine.
- Adam Faith, Stardust, 1974. The Beatles’ drummer refrained from reprising Mike from the first film, That’ll Be The Day, 1973, as Ray Connolly’s new rock ’n’ pop script was too painfully close for comfort.
- Jack Jones, The Comeback, 1977. For his penultimate movie, UK schlocker Pete Walker aimed higher than School For Sex, Cool It Carol!, The Flesh and Blood Show, House of Whipcord, Schizo, etc, etc. He wanted Kim Basinger or Melanie Griffith as the groupie involved with Roxy Music’s Bryan Ferry, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr or Cat Stevens as the crooner involved with his wife’s ghost and her killer. Walker got Stephenson (who later wed Billy Connolly and became a shrink) opposite US singer Jack Jones, ex-lover of Walker’s Die Screaming Marianne star, Susan George.
- Frank Finlay, The Three Musketeers, 1973. Starring, who else, but the Beatles. Of course, of course! They rejected the “old standby” in 1967. Of course, of course! Ringo would have been (an underweight) Porthos. Of course, of course! The project lost the boys but won their director: Richard Lester. Of course, of course!
- Keith David, Mr & Mrs Smith, 2005. Terry and Jacqueline Bisset were the big villains for the climax – what else are true Brits for in LA? The ending was dropped – and a second one shot with Angela Bassett and Keith David. That, too, was sliced.
- Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, 2001-2003.
- George Carlin, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, 1988. Shooting had moved from Arizona to Italy, but no one had been found for Rufus, mentor of the time-travelling duo. “We reached out to all sorts of people, included, but we were… not on anybody’s radar,” director Stephen Herek told The Hollywood Reporterin 2019.“We went through 20-25 people – Ringo Starr included, probably Roger Daltrey.” “They just couldn’t find anybody,” reported Alex Winter/Bill. “Imagine that opening monologue with Charlie Sheen, Sean Connery… these are the names that were being bandied about. None of them are really comedians. It seemed fairly logical to land on a comedian… and I’m very glad that they did. George was a happy accident.That whole movie was a happy accident. No one thought it would ever see the light of day.”
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Sir Richard StarkeyUsual occupation: SingerCasting Calls: 7