- Ralph Fiennes, Red Dragon, 2002. Auditioned for the highly tattooed serial killer Francis Dolarhyde. In good company. Paul Bettany, Nic Cage and Sean Penn were also considered.
- Brendan Fraser, Furry Vengeance, 2009. Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, Bryan Cranston, Will Ferrell, even down-market Jeremy Piven walked away from the alleged “comedy”. As dumb as Fraser’s earlier George of the Jungle. (They helped ruin his A List career). Not much of a comeback for Brooke Shield, either – as his wife. USA Today critic Claudia Puig did not mince her words. “A slapstick stinker, easily the worst movie of the year… a slight to true environmentalists and, heck, even an affront to animals.” Fraser is ashamed of the film.
- Ashton Kutcher, Two And A Half Men, TV, 2011-2015. Highest paid comedy TV star Charlie Sheen was sacked after eight years due to his meltdown feud with the show’s co-creator Chuck Lorre – massive news on TV, Twitter, Facebook, every media known to man, plus Sheen’s own national tour. Unless he could find a someone to be excited about, Lorre wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue Men – he already had two other hits, Mike & Molly and The Big Bang Theory. Suggestions included Piven, Hugh Grant, Woody Harrelson, Rob Lowe, John Stamos. Enter: Kutcher, star of That ’70s Show. He already had a Warner deal via his Katalyst company – and so, the studio’s billion dollar syndication income was secured. Because that’s all this casting call was all about. Money.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 2