- Brad Pitt, Thelma & Louise, 1990.
- Keanu Reeves, Dracula, 1992. “Since Backdraft, I turned down about 25 films – 90% being bad material. I even had to refuse Coppola. Who could see me in the role of Lucy’s boyfriend? What could I do with it? Make a bundle! But that’s not what it’s all about.” Johnny Depp, Charlie Sheen and Christian Slater were also up for mild-mannered Jonahan Harker. Slater famously fled, opining: “If you’re not going to play Dracula in Dracula, why bother? I’d already been Robin Hood’s brother.”
- Roger E Mosley, Unlawful Entry, 1992. “Not only has this movie been done – but I’ve done it! Ray Liotta is the crazy cop Richard Gere character in Internal Affairs and my cop has a very similar relationship as I had with Gere in that film. The only way I’d do it – and I’d be very cautious and reluctant – is to play Liotta’s role. Obviously, they’re not going to jolt Ray Liotta for me.”
- Woody Harrelson, Indecent Proposal, 1992. Baldwin, John Cusack, Johnny Depp, Val Kilmer, Charlie Sheen… None of them had Harrelson’s guts to accept the role of a husband selling his wife for $1m to a zillionaire for one night. (He’d even walked out of Benny & Joon to play David – costing Paramoiunt $400,000). Didn’t matter which lady played the missus – Irene Jacob, Andi MacDowell, Sophie Marceau, Demi Moore, Julia Roberts – the film had a fatal flaw. Mr Money Bags was Robert Redford. ’Nuff said?
- Keanu Reeves, Speed, 1993. There were 30 stars queuing for Die Hard On A Bus. From A Listers Jeff Bridges, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Tom Hanks, Kurt Russell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Patrick Swayze, even Mr Die Hard, himself, Bruce Willis… to the B group: Kevin Bacon, three Baldwin brothers (Alec, Stephen and William), Michael Biehn, Bruce Campbell, George Clooney, Johnny Depp, Richard Dreyfuss, Michael Keaton, Christophe(r) Lambert, Viggo Mortensen, Dennis Quaid, Mickey Rourke, Tom Selleck… and two also-rans Bruce Campbell and Chuck Norris. All crushed by a whippersnapper!
- Christian Slater, Untamed Heart, 1993. Madonna wanted to make it with Jason Patric (no comment), and fled when Baldwin was pencilled in. Not for long.
- Tom Hanks, Philadelphia, 1993.
Jonathan Demme’s brave film was about a lawyer suing for loss of job because he had AIDS. When Daniel Day-Lewis skipped to make The Name of the Father and Michael Keaton preferred dying (of cancer) in My Life, Demme called on William Baldwin, Andy Garcia, Tim Robbins – even gay porn star Jerry Kelly – before Hanks lost 26lbs to be the dying Andrew Beckett… and win the first of his consecutive Best Actor Oscars. “People are saying I was bold to do this, that it was a courageous choice,” Hanks told Newsweek. “I don’t see how there’s anything bold about playing as great a guy as Andy Beckett. It’s bold for me to… what? To play a man who goes to sleep in Antonio Banderas’ arms every night? Who has sexual intercourse him somehow? Is that what’s bold. As a society, we should d be beyond this.” - Chris O’Donnell, The Three Musketeers, 1993. Chased for D’Artagnan by the Tri-Star version eventually buried by Disney’s faster casting.
- Woody Harrelson, Indecent Proposal, 1993. No suspense. Due to his screen image, everyone knew Billy would have little hesitation in selling his wife for a night to Robert Redford’s zillionaire for a $1m!
- Ralph Fiennes, Quiz Show, 1993. “They gave me the answers…” Harold Becker was booked to direct Richard Dreyfuss. Then, Steven Soderbergh would helm Tim Robbins. Ultimately, another director, by the name of Robert Redford, auditioned Baldwin (ancd Tim Robbins) before going British Fiennes as Charles Van Doren – the scandalous cheat on the Twenty-One TV game show, in the staid 50s when Eisenhower was president and all was hunky dory. Redford said the scandal marked the end of American innocence. Really? Suerly two worlds wars and the KKK had done that… Dreyfuss was set as Herb Stempel, who deliberately lost to Van Doren (to boost NBC ratings) and blew the whistle on the constantly rigged answers.. No one believed him, nor wanted to. Until a probe by future JFK speechwriter Dick Goodwin. Watching the show at 22, Redford was always convinced Van Doren was acting.
- Brad Pitt, Interview With A Vampire, 1994.
- Richard Gere, First Knight, 1995. Jerry Zucker’s first Lancelot before script hassles postponed the song-less Camelot for a year.
- Patrick Swayze, To Wong Fu Thanks For Everything Julie Newmar, 1995. Billy in a frock – oh, please!
- Jay Mohr, Picture Perfect, 1996. Jennifer Aniston’s first post-Friends movie and she had a tough time working with Mohr. She wanted her lover, Tate Donovan, in the role. On his Mohr Storiespodcast, he said he kept bad mouthing him from the first day of rehearsal, when she pointed right at him and screamed: “Six guys they screen-test! Six… The one fucking guy I hate, that’s the guy they hire. Him!” Sounds like a lucky escape for Baldwin, Matthew Broderick, John Corbett and future talk-show host Jon Stewart.
- John Pankow, The Object Of My Affection, 1997. The 90s’ eternal triangle of a girl and two guys (a gay and a straight), changed from Uma Thurman, Keanu Reeves and Baldwin, to Aniston, Paul Rudd (or Baldwn) and the Mad About You TV star Pankow… William’s baby brother, Stephen, was finally choses and dropped after a day.
- Emilio Estevez, Rated X, TV, 1999. When Sean Penn’s version of the life of the porno-making Mitchell brothers collapsed – starring Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson – the Baldwin boys Alex and William, tried to get it rolling anew.
- Jared Leto, The Thin Red Line, 1998. After various readings inMarch 1995 of director Terrence Malik’s first script for 17 years (with Kevin Costner, Johnny Depp, Martin Sheen, Will Patton, etc) at producer Mike Medavoy’s house, the two film-makers saw other youngsters.Including Baldwin.
- Dominic Colenso, Thunderbirds, 2004. The (once puppet) heroes of the 1965-1966 UK sf series, were named after the Mercury 7 astronauts. William was to be Virgil Tracy, the Thunderbird 2 pilot, born 2041, named for Virgil Gus Grissom. With brothers Alec, Daniel, Stephen as Scott, John, Gordon. And no one as Alan Tracy!
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 19