Rejection is nothing new when it comes to the careers of professional actors. In fact, some would say, it comes with the territory.
For years, many of Hollywood’s biggest stars have been cast, fired and replaced by their colleagues in some of the most beloved TV shows and films.
From Lisa Kudrow to Ryan Gosling, here are some of the surprising reasons why stars were fired from major roles.
Lisa Kudrow, replaced by Peri Gilpin in ‘Frasier’
Lisa Kudrow was originally cast as Peri Gilpen’s Roz Doyle on “Frasier.” (Getty Images)
During an appearance on Sirius XM’s “The Howard Stern Show,” Lisa Kudrow, who’s best known for playing Phoebe Buffay on “Friends,” revealed that she was once tapped to play Roz Doyle on “Frasier.” However, the actress was “fired” from the gig ahead of its pilot episode.
“I wasn’t right for the part [or] for the chemistry of the group. So, that wasn’t working, but I did think, ‘Oh, I am not this guy’s cup of tea,'” she said of director James Burrows and his decision to swap her for Peri Gilpin, according to People magazine.
The sitcom ran for 11 seasons on NBC from 1993 to 2004.
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“It was devastating to get fired,” Kudrow said during an appearance on the “Smartless“ podcast last week. “It just wasn’t working, I don’t know. Jimmy was saying, like, ‘This isn’t working.’”
No harm done, though, because Kudrow went on to land her role of a lifetime that same year on another James Burrows hit, “Friends.”
Maura Tierney, replaced by Lauren Graham in ‘Parenthood’
Maura Tierney’s breast cancer diagnosis forced her to hand over her “Parenthood” role to Lauren Graham. (Getty Images)
Maura Tierney, who was at the peak of her career when starring as Abby Lockhart in NBC’s medical drama, “ER,” was originally slated to play a divorced mom Sarah in “Parenthood.”
Unfortunately, Tierney was forced to drop out of the project after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The show’s production schedule conflicted with her treatments.
“I remember thinking, ‘I’m so young, this can’t be happening,’” Tierney told People in 2009. “It was an odd moment.”
Lauren Graham, who had just wrapped “Gilmore Girls,” stepped in and portrayed Sarah for six seasons.
John Posey, replaced by Bob Saget in ‘Full House’
John Posey was originally cast to play the Tanner family patriarch. (Getty Images)
Can you imagine a world in which Bob Saget didn’t play Danny Tanner on “Full House?”
Before the pilot aired, John Posey was called in to play the Tanner family patriarch after Saget’s availability crumbled due to his commitment to CBS’s “The Morning Program.”
During an interview with Yahoo! TV, Posey said, per Screen Rant, “They … pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, we’d like to see you get in front of our comedy development people.’ … I went ahead and went [to Los Angeles]. And then, of course, the pilot they gave me right away was ‘Full House.'”
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The pilot episode with John Posey never aired.
“[I had been] doing Saturday Night Live-type, Second City comedy, very physical comedy,” Posey said. “And ‘Full House’ was very, you know, sweet and different.”
However, once executives got word that Saget’s show was canceled, they snagged him and quickly fired Posey.
“Nobody said there were problems,” Posey recalled. “It seemed like everything was fine. We shot it. I learned as much as I could in a short period of time. And next thing I know … ‘Hey, you’re no longer employed.'”
Alex Borstein, replaced by Melissa McCarthy in ‘Gilmore Girls’
Alex Borstein couldn’t portray Sookie St. James due to a contract conflict.
“Gilmore Girls” could not have been complete without the energy of Sookie St. James, Lorelei’s (Lauren Graham) best friend and quirky employee/business partner.
The original pilot (which was not aired) featured Alex Borstein as St. James. However, at the time, Borstein was obligated to complete her contract with MAD TV, which prevented her from filming additional episodes of “Gilmore Girls.”
The part ended up going to Melissa McCarthy, who portrayed St. James for all seven seasons.
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In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, McCarthy opened up about where her character would be today.
“She has, like, 42 kids. I think they’re growing weed. I think her and [her husband] Jackson – she still cooks, but I think [they do] edibles. I think they run a very nice little mom-and-pop business with their 13 kids, and she makes delicious edibles.”
Amanda Walsh, replaced by Kaley Cuoco in ‘The Big Bang Theory’
Amanda Walsh was originally supposed to portray Katie in “The Big Bang Theory.”
Amanda Walsh was originally slated to play “The Big Bang Theory’s” female protagonist, Penny.
“In the first pilot, the character of Penny [originally named Katie] was not as appealing as that proverbial girl next door. It was not the actress [Amanda Walsh] but rather the conceit of the character,” Peter Roth, president and chief content officer at Warner Bros. Television Group, told TV Insider in 2019. “Fortunately, Nina Tassler, then-president of CBS Entertainment, realized we had something very special and said, ‘Let’s do it again.'”
The next time around, executives brought in Kaley Cuoco to replace Walsh.
“I didn’t get [the role of Katie] the first time around. I was too young, which I love saying because I don’t get to say that I’m too young anymore,” Cuoco told TV Insider in 2019. “Then, a year later, I heard they were doing it again, and they brought me back in to read for Penny.”
Cuoco starred as Penny for 12 seasons.
Ryan Gosling, replaced by Mark Wahlberg in ‘The Lovely Bones’
Ryan Gosling gained 60 pounds for a role he ended up losing.
In 2010, Ryan Gosling gave a candid interview with The Hollywood Reporter and explained why he was fired from playing the role of Jack Salmon in Peter Jackson’s “The Lovely Bones” and replaced by Mark Wahlberg.
“We had a different idea of how the character should look,” Gosling, who gained 60 pounds for the role, told the outlet. “I really believed he should be 210 pounds.”
But production didn’t have the same idea.
“We didn’t talk very much during the pre-production process, which was the problem,” Gosling said of his interaction with Jackson. “It was a huge movie, and there’s so many things to deal with, and he couldn’t deal with the actors individually. I just showed up on set, and I had gotten it wrong.
“Then I was fat and unemployed.”
Eric Stoltz, replaced by Michael J. Fox in ‘Back To The Future’
Eric Stoltz briefly portrayed Michael J. Fox’s iconic Marty McFly in “Back To The Future.”
It’s no secret that Michael J. Fox was not the first actor cast as Marty McFly.
While Fox was director Robert Zemeckis and screenwriter Bob Gale’s first choice to play McFly, the actor’s busy schedule didn’t allow for it. Instead, executives hired Stoltz. However, according to Entertainment Weekly, he was fired after a few weeks because production felt his reading was too intense.
In Caseen Gaines’ book, “We Don’t Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future Trilogy,” co-star Lea Thompson said, “Eric had such an intensity. He saw drama in things. He wasn’t really a comedian, and they needed a comedian.”
“He’s super funny in real life, but he didn’t approach his work like that, and they really needed somebody who had those chops,” she added, per Collider.
Enter Michael J. Fox.