- Unax Ugalde, Alatriste, France-Spain-US, 2006. Fine, fine, but the important role had already gone to Viggo Mortensen – as the heroic 17th Century Spanish soldier-turned-mercenary Captain Diego Alatriste y Tenorio.
- Sam Riley, Maleficent, 2012. George Blagden, Logan Marshall-Green and Jim Sturgess were also up for Diaval as another fairy tale joined the Hollywood reboots. This one was from the viewpoint of Sleeping Beauty’s nemesis, the titular Angelina Jolie, no less. Not released until 2014.
- Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club, 2012. Bernal, apparently, lost interest in the true story Ron Woodroof, hetero druggie and homophobe who got AIDS and given 30 days to live in 1986. Getting no better with only US-approved medicine, AZT, he began smuggling illegal medications from all over and accidentally created the titular club, supplying members with the right stuff – and so the pharmaceutical giants set out to crush him. Losing some 13 kilos for the role, McConaughey was more frighentingly gaunt than Tom Hanks in Philadephia. This, too, had Oscar written all over it.
- Michael K Williams, RoboCop, 2013. The old model had a female cop partner. Once Bernal, Logan Marshall-Green and Alexander Skarsgård were passed over, the weak reboot had a black chort. Suitably enough, considering the new robo-design was also black. Not, alas, the script.
- Andrew Garfield, Silence, 2016. Martin Scorese’s third religious experience floundered so long in Development Hell that he lost his 90s’ leads – Bernal, Daniel Day-Lewis, Benicio Del Toro. Nine years later, they became Garfield, Liam Neeson and Adam Driver. Surprising choices for Jesuit priests: an ex-Spider Man plus Qui-Gon Jinn and Kylo Ren from Star Wars! Reminisient of The Mission, 1985 – Best Film at Cannes and the Oscars – the project was Marty’s obsession for 20 years based on Shûsaku Endô’s 1966 novel about two Jesuits persecuted in the 17th Century Japan, a true story related in Shûsaku Endô’s 1966 novel.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 5