- Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic, 1996.
- Matt Damon, The Talented Mr Ripley, 1998. UK director Anthony Minghella said no.
- Tobey Maguire, The Cider House Rules, 1998. Miramax talked to Crudup and Anthony Hopkins as the orphan and the abortionist in John Irving’s 1985 book – once a six-hour play in Seattle!
- Christian Bale, American Psycho, 1999. Loooong story! The Lions Gate producers wanted Ewdard Norton as the titular Patrick Bateman. Instead, director Mary Harron ran through a bunch of fresher faces: Crudup, Ben Chaplin, Robert Sean Leonard, Jared Leto, Jonny Lee Miller, Jonathon Schaech. She was allowed Bale, if she backed him up with some bigger names (enter Willem Dafoe, Reese Witherspoon). Harron quit when the suits reneged and signed Leonardo DiCaprio as Bateman! Oliver Stone moved in. Then, Leo (getting bad Press for pushing Bale out) quit for The Beach (pushing Ewan McGregor out !). Stone followed him. Harron and Bale were welcomed back.
- Joaquin Phoenix, Quills, 2000. Crudup, Jude Law and two Aussies, Hugh Jackman and Guy Pearce, were in contention for the Abbé de Coulmier, boss of the Charenton insane asylum where the Marquis de Sade was incarcerated in 1789. But the enlightened abbott went to co-star Kate Winslet’s choice. (Scenarist Doug Wright called her the film’s patron saint). None of them was right. Coulmier was a 4ft hunchback!
- Willem Dafore, Spider-Man, 2001.
- Eric Bana, The Incredible Hulk, 2002. Taiwanese director Ang Lee first played the Hulk, himself, using the performance-capture process. During the mid-1990s, Depp was first choice for the green guy. Next candidates included Steve Buscemi, Tom Cruise, David Duchovny, Jeff Goldblum and Edward Norton before (because of Chopper), Bana became Bruce Banner. (So did Norton in the 2007 version. No better). Crudup fled, thinking it was like Titanic – the kind of film that would make him a star. And stardom never interested him.
- Christian Bale, Batman Begins, 2004.
- Zachary Quinto, Margin Call, 2010. Change of Peter Sullivan, who is slipped a USB data proving that the company so obviously inspired by Lehman Brothers is going down in the Wall Street eye-opener
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Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain, 2004. Hollywood was not keen on Annie Prouix’s 1977 short story – two gay shepherds in Wyoming, get outa here! – until directors (more than actors) queued to make it. Ang Lee, Joel Schumacher – but first in line was Gus Van Sant (obviously). He called up Damon and Joaquin Phoenix (obviously, they’d made his Good Will Hunting and To Die For, respectively). Said Damon: “Gus, I did a gay movie [The Talented Mr Ripley, then a cowboy movie [All the Pretty Horses]. I can’t follow it up with a gay-cowboy movie!” Ang Lee was considering retirement when the script “nurtured” him back to work, only to find many actors were scared to play gay. all refused. Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal did not. ”These two are among the best in their age group.. Jake plays the opposite of Heath and it creates a very good couple in terms of a romantic love story.” Gyllenhaal added: “I don’t think that these two characters even know what gay is.… What ties [them] together is not just a love, but … primarily it was deep loneliness Ang Lee told journo Robert Ordona that in the 60s, he’d have chosen Paul Newman and Montgomery Clift as Ennis and Jack.
- Dermot Mulroney, The Family Stone, 2005. Billy was thought a shoo-in as his co-star was his girl since Stage Beauty, 2004, Claire Danes.
- Sam Riley, On The Road, Argentina-Brazil-Canada-France-Germany-Holland-Mexico-UK-US. 2010. Francis Coppola He tried to write a script but “never knew how to do it.” Numerous attempts were made at filming Jack Kerouac’s 1957 “Beat Generation” classic. He even mused on playing himself (or his aka Sal Paradise) in 1957 opposite Marlon Brando as Neal Cassady (aka Dean Moriarty). Marlon never replied to his invite, probably thinking it was a fake. 1979: Francis bought the rights. He tried to write a script but “never knew how to do it.” 1995: He planned a 16mm black-white version with “beat” poet Allen Ginsberg. (Johnny Depp declined in the 90s). 2005: Joel Schumacher helming Billy Crudup-Colin Farrell…or Brad Pitt-Ethan Hawke. Finally, Coppola & Son (Roman) and 26 other producers (!) had Brazilian Walter Salles directing English Sam Riley, Australian Garrett Hedlund – and Kristen Stewart as Mary Lou, once offered to Lindsay Lohan and Winona Ryder. Salles also checked Joseph Gordon-Levitt-James Franco.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 12