List of film roles for which Nicolas Cage was considered

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The following is a list of film roles American actor Nicolas Cage turned down or missed out on. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

List

NameYearOffered roleRefNotes
The Breakfast Club 1985John Bender [2] [5] [6] [7] Role went to Judd Nelson.
Dumb and Dumber 1994Harry Dunne [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] Role went to Jeff Daniels.
The Matrix 1999 Neo [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] [8] Role went to Keanu Reeves.
Shadow of the Vampire 2000 Max Schreck [2] Role went to Willem Dafoe.
Shrek 2001 Shrek [1] [2] [3] [4] [6] [7] [8] Role went to Mike Myers.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 Aragorn [1] [2] [3] [5] [6] [7] [8] Role went to Viggo Mortensen.
Spider-Man 2002 Norman Osborn/Green Goblin [2] [4] [6] Role went to Willem Dafoe.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004Joel Barish [1] [3] [5] [6] Role went to Jim Carrey.
Constantine 2005 John Constantine [4] [5] [7] Role went to Keanu Reeves.
Batman Begins 2005 Scarecrow [2] [4] [5] [6] Role went to Cillian Murphy.
Wedding Crashers 2005Chazz Reinhold [2] Role went to Will Ferrell.
Fantastic Four 2005 Doctor Doom [2] [6] [7] Role went to Julian McMahon.
Crank 2006Chev Chelios [1] [5] Role went to Jason Statham.
Iron Man 2008 Tony Stark/Iron Man [3] Role went to Robert Downey Jr.
The Wrestler 2008Randy "The Ram" Robinson [1] [3] [5] [6] Role went to Mickey Rourke.
The Green Hornet 2011 Green Hornet or Benjamin Chudnofsky [1] [2] [3] [4] A
The Frozen Ground B 2013 Robert Hansen [1] [3] Role went to John Cusack.
Mandy C 2018Jeremiah Sand [3] Role went to Linus Roache.

Notes

^A Sources differ as to which role Cage was considered to play in The Green Hornet (2011). According to several sources, Cage was considered for the part of Benjamin Chunofsky [1] [3] [4] whereas Cracked.com claims Cage was considered for the part of the Green Hornet. [2] Chudnofsky and the Green Hornet were portrayed by Christoph Waltz and Seth Rogen respectively.

^B Cage wound up portraying Jack Halcombe in The Frozen Ground (2013). [1]

^C Cage wound up portraying Red Miller in Mandy (2018). [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sudfield, Bryan (June 20, 2020). "Every Major Movie Role Nicolas Cage Turned Down". Screen Rant. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Diplotti, Andres; Marie, Tara (April 15, 2022). "15 Roles That Were Almost Played by Nicolas Cage". Cracked.com. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Moore, Nolan (October 23, 2018). "Roles Nicolas Cage Actually Turned Down". Looper.com. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Albinder, Cole (February 25, 2020). "Nicolas Cage: 10 Movie Roles He Almost Played (Including 5 Superhero Ones)". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Walters, Jack (May 3, 2022). "10 Amazing Roles Almost Played By Nicolas Cage, According To Ranker". Screen Rant. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Martello, Olivia (March 31, 2023). "10 Major Roles Nicolas Cage Didn't Get or Turned Down". MovieWeb. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pineda Pacheco, Diego (April 14, 2023). "10 Famous Roles Nicolas Cage Almost Played, But Didn't". Collider. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Hutchinson, Emily (April 20, 2022). "You Won't Believe What Major Film Roles Nicolas Cage Turned Down In The Early 2000s". Nicki Swift. Retrieved March 2, 2025.
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