- Kim Cattrall, Bonfire of the Vanities, 1989. Director Brian De Palma liked KST and wanted her to test for Judy McCoy in LA. But she was on vacation at the time – and her daughter came first. De Palma took note and better timed his call about Mission: Impossible, six years later.
- Minnie Driver, Good Will Hunting, 1997. When the writer-stars Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, Oscars in hand, thanked Minnie Driver, the simultaneous translation for French TV said they thanked… beaucoup de chauffeurs!
- Ann Heche, Six Days Seven Nights, 1997. KST and Harrison Ford – The Full Story! They were due for a 90s movie called Age of Aquarius, which never happened. Then, she was to be Kate Hepburn to his Bogie in this the 2006 air-crash/desert isle thing. She finally got her man in his next gig: Random Hearts, another take on plane-crash romances. And a lot of good that did them!
- Julianne Moore, The End of the Affair, 1999. The old Ingrid Bergman-Roberto Rossellini Ploy still works… Juliuanne won by doing something Kirstin never thought of – writing the director, Irishman Neil Jordan, praising him – explaining why she should have the role.
- Sandrine Bonnaire, C’est la vie, France, 2001. First thought opposite Jacques Durtronc in – despite the title and chocolate box poster – a rare look at the great French taboo of death. Kristen was just too full of life. Pregnant.
- Renée Zellweger, Bridget Jones’s Diary, 2001. Among the dozen nearly-Brendas – from outrageous ideas like Nicole Kidman, and Catherine Zeta-Jones (far too beautiiful for a dumpy dowdy) to more sensible Rachel Griffiths and Emma Thompson.
- Geena Davis, Commander in Chief, TV, 2005-2006. Writer-director Rod Lurie pitched his series about the first woman president of the US to Kristin – after being turned down by Joan Allen, star of The Contender, 2000 – his film about the first woman vice-president.
- Harriet Walter, Atonement, 2006. Both KST and Emily Watson were asked to play the mother of sisters Keira Knightley and Saoirse Ronan. “Obviously, they were trying to get the feel of a David Lean epic,” said his widow, Sandra, “but they failed. Without David, it’s not so easy.”
- Helena Bonham Carter, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, 2006. KST, Annette Bening, Toni Collette, Nicole Kidman, Cyndi Lauper, Bernadette Peters, Meryl Streep plus great Brits Staunton, Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet were seen for Mrs Lovett, making the meatiest of meat pies (from the victims of a demonic Johnny Depp). They all lacked one essential. They were not living with director Tim Burton! HBC was and underlined it by being pregnant during the shoot.
- Naomi Watts, Adore, France-Australia, 2012. Always up to date with the latest books, plays, ideas, etc, it was Jeanne Moreau who told new producteur Dominique Besnehard about the Doris Lessing book, The Grandmothers. He immediately thought of (who else ?) Nathalie Baye opposite, say, Fanny Ardant or Nicole Garcia – with old pals Jacques Doillon or François Ozon directing. Instead, it became the first English language film directed by the former actress Anne Fontaine (put up by Besnahard in his casting icon days, for Isabelle Adjani’s role in L’Eté meurtrier, 1982). Her husband, Philippe Carcassonne, produced with Besnehard’s Mon Voisin Productions among the five co-producing entities. As proved by his 2014 autobiography, Besnehard’s favorite word is… adore.
- Jacqueline Bisset, Welcome To New York, 2013. Allegedly jealous that director Abel Ferrara was more fascinated by Gérard Depardieu than her, Adjani quit the role of the thinly disguised Madame Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Three new candidates loved the script – switched from a conspiracy thriller to a vibrant study of the weaknesses of the human soul – but Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche and Beatrice Dalle were all booked. Bisset was suggested by Depardieu, playing DSK… er, Georges Devereaux. The ex-Mrs DSK, journo Anne Sinclair, declared: “I’m not attacking this filth, I’m vomiting on it.”
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 11