Ever since Brian De Palma made his first novel one of the greatest horror films of all time, Stephen King has been one of the world’s most frequently adapted writers. His spooky tales of the macabre have formed the basis of many horror classics, such as The brilliant and Misery, as well as many non-horror classics, like acclaimed dramas Shawshank’s Redemption and Support me.
Casting an adaptation of a novel is tricky because there is no visual reference for the characters, and people who have read the book tend to hold the characters very close to their hearts.
ten Robert De Niro as Jack Torrance in The Shining
Jack Nicholson has always been Stanley Kubricks’ first choice for the role of Jack Torrance in The brilliant, but he considered a few more performers in case Nicholson was not available or if there was a return from the studio.
Robert De Niro was one of the actors in the running for the game. However, after seeing De Niros transform into Travis Bickle in Martin Scorseses Taxi driver, Kubrick decided it was no good for Jack and pushed for Nicholson.
9 Bette Midler as Annie Wilkes in misery
Kathy Bates was a relative unknown when she was cast for the role of Annie Wilkes in Misery, a role that won him an Oscar. But before Bates is cast, the role was offered to Bette Midler.
However, Midler declined because she found the script too violent. William Goldmans’ early drafts had the original kick-off scene from the novels in place of the slightly less gruesome lapping scene found in the final cut.
8 Russell Crowe as Roland Deschain in the Dark Tower
An adaptation of The dark tower series had been in development for years. JJ Abrams originally planned to follow up Lost with a Dark tower movie franchise. At one point Ron Howard was hired to direct.
When Howard was signed, his first choice for the role of Gunslinger Roland Deschain was Russell Crowe, with whom he worked A beautiful spirit and Cinderella man.
7 Shaquille ONeal as John Coffey in the Green Mile
Frank Darabont struggled to find the right actor incarnate John Coffey, condemned to death wrongly imprisoned and figure of Christ The green Line. He considered Ving Rhames and Shaquille ONeal, but Rhames was considered too suave and, as a basketball player, ONeal did not have the emotional range required to play the role.
Michael Clarke Duncan, the perfect choice for the role, ended up being chosen based on a recommendation from his Armageddon co-starring Bruce Willis.
6 Shailene Woodley as Carrie White in Carrie (2013)
When the 2013 rehabilitation of Carrie entered development, the producers’ first choice for the title role was The fault in our stars Shailene Woodley, but She refused.
The shortlist was reduced to Emily Browning, Lily Collins, Dakota Fanning, and Chlo Grace Moretz, with the latter winning the role. Moretz brought him everything in the remake, but that paled compared to De Palma’s masterful original.
5 William Hurt as Paul Sheldon in Misery
From the book by screenwriter William Goldmans What lie did I tell?, the role of Paul Sheldon in Misery was offered to almost every actor in Hollywood, but they all turned it down because the character was clearly overshadowed by Annie Wilkes.
William Hurt was the first choice for the role and after turning it down twice, it was offered to Robert De Niro, Michael Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, Harrison Ford, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Kline, Al Pacino and Robert Redford , who all rejected him before James Caan was finally chosen.
4 Will Poulter as Pennywise in it
With his wandering eyes and the ability to seamlessly transition from hysterical laughter to baffling silence, Bill Skarsgrd ended up being the perfect choice to bring Pennywise the Dancing Clown to life in Andy Muschiettis’ adaptation of He.
But he was not the first choice for the role. When Cary Joji Fukunaga was hired to lead,Will Poulter was originally chosen to play Pennywise.
3 Michael McKean as narrator by my side
Richard Dreyfuss ended up being the perfect narrator in the framing narrative of Support me, but according to director Rob Reiner, Finding the narrator was tricky.
David Dukes, Ted Bessell and Michael McKean with whom Reiner had worked It’s Spinal Tap all did auditions, but Reiner didn’t think their voices sounded right for the role.
2 Tom Hanks as Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption
Before Tim Robbins became Andy Dufresne in Shawshank’s Redemption, the role was offered to Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks. They all passed Costner, because he was committed to doing Water world, and Hanks, because he was determined to do Forrest Gump.
Hanks felt bad for turning down the piece and committed to working with Darabont on another project. He ended up starring in another adaptation of Stephen King directed by Darabont in a prison: The green Line.
1 Anjelica Huston as Annie Wilkes in Misery
In addition to Bette Midler, the role of Annie Wilkes was offered to Anjelica Huston before Kathy Bates was chosen. Huston was interested in the project but had to turn it down due to scheduling conflicts with Scammers.
It’s impossible to imagine anyone other than Bates playing Annie Wilkes. AFI ranked Annie as the 17th greatest villain in movie history on its 100 Years … 100 Heroes & Villains list.
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