The film drama Brokeback Mountain bagged three Oscars in 2006, starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. Actually, completely different actors were planned for it – but they declined.
In an interview with IndieWire, Gus Van Sant talks about the plans he originally had for Brokeback Mountain. The director was supposed to take on the project, but his enthusiasm was dampened by the difficulty of casting the lead roles. Ultimately, Ang Lee took over the direction of the drama film.
Here you can see the German trailer for Brokeback Mountain:
Brokeback Mountain – German trailer
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The “usual suspects” all refused
This was the difficulty in casting the main roles: Gus Van Sant was set to direct Brokeback Mountain, but he ended his work on the project. He had the feeling that the romantic film needed a strong, famous cast – but that didn’t work.
Gus Van Sant commented on the problem to IndieWire:
Nobody wanted it [den Film] make. I asked the usual suspects: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Ryan Phillippe. They all refused.
What I could have done, and probably should have done, was more unknown [Schauspieler] to cast and not worry about the main actors. I wasn’t ready.[…]
Gus Van Sant via IndieWire
Brokeback Mountain producer and screenwriter Diana Ossana confirmed this to IndieWire via email: “Yes, all of these young gentlemen turned down the project for various reasons.”
Ultimately, both Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal received Oscar nominations for their roles, debunking the belief that playing gay characters would cause irreparable damage to one’s career, according to IndieWire.
How successful is Brokeback Mountain? In 2006, Brokeback Mountain received three Oscars for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Score. He was nominated for a total of eight Oscars.
It grossed around $178,000 worldwide (via IMDb). On Rotten Tomatoes, Brokeback Mountain’s audience score is 82% positive.
Another example of a role in a successful film that a famous actor turned down is The Matrix. Keanu Reeves achieved his international breakthrough as the main character Neo in The Matrix. He wasn’t the first choice for the lead role.
Will Smith got the offer for the role. However, he declined and instead took part in another film that flopped tremendously:
Will Smith recounts one of the worst decisions of his career: “Why didn’t you do The Matrix?”