15 Celebs Who Surprisingly Got Cut Out Of Famous Films And The Reasons Behind Them

Why in the world would they cut Leonardo DiCaprio?

Liezel

• Published in Film & TV
• July 5, 2022

Most people think that when you get through auditions and you're already at taping that you're truly in a film. But nope, it doesn't always work out that way...

The world of entertainment really doesn't work that way. In that world, nothing is ever really sure even if you're an A-list actor or actress.

One minute, you can be acting your heart out for your first few scenes, and then once the movie comes out, you won't even see your shadow anywhere. Why?

There are a lot of reasons that can happen and it can happen to anyone no matter how big or small their reputation may be. Of course, we have some ideas why.

Sometimes, it might be because the actor's part didn't simply have any relevance to the whole story so it was just left on the cutting room floor. Other times, it can more dramatic and behind-the-scenes drama between the actor and the crew can lead to them getting cut out of the film.

Whatever it is, we don't think it's an easy thing to go through for actors. Just imagine doing your best and sacrificing your time and effort only for it to end in nothing.

That does wonders for confidence, doesn't it?

Anywho, here are some of the most surprising celebs who got cut out of famous films and the reasons behind it.

Leonardo DiCaprio was cut out from the 1992 thriller Poison Ivy

Leo was only in the film for a few seconds despite already doing many TV shows at that point.

On Marc Maron's WTF podcast, the actor revealed that he was cast as a character who delivers a wordy insult to Sarah Gilbert's character on the show. However, he couldn't get it right.

The director then simplified his role to just entering the room, looking at Sarah, and saying, "Problems." Sadly, it was still cut from the film.

Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly in Back to the Future

After five weeks of filming, the director decided that Stoltz just wasn't right for Marty so he was replaced by Michael J. Fox.

According to the book We Don't Need Roads: The Making of the Back to the Future trilogy, the problem was Stoltz was taking the role in a more serious route than they wanted and he wasn't delivering on the script's humor.

Daisy Ridley's performance was cut from The Inbetweeners 2

Daisy would have actually made her first major motion picture appearance in the film through an opening scene but months after shooting, the filmmakers decided they wanted to reshoot the scene. Unfortunately, at that time, Daisy was already busy shooting Star Wars: The Force Awakens so they had to recast her.

Prince William and Prince Harry were cut out from Star Wars: The Last Jedi

The brothers actually shot cameos as stormtroopers for the film but they were cut out because they were too tall and looked so out of place with the rest of the more average-height stormtroopers.

Sterling K. Brown was cut out of Split

The This Is Us star actually played a neighbor of Dr. Karen Fletcher in the film who warns her about her patient Kevin. Sadly, director M. Night Shyamalan thought his scene took too much focus away so it was cut.

Paul Rudd was cut out from Bridesmaids

According to director Paul Feig, Paul's part was very funny in the film but sadly, the film was already running too long and they didn't think Kristen Wiig's Annie needed a third man in her life so Paul's part was just cut.

Harrison Ford's cameo in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial forever became an outtake

E.T. was actually written by Harrison's then-wife, Melissa Mathison, and directed by his frequent collaborator Steven Spielberg so it makes sense for him to make a cameo in the film. Sadly, his part as the uptight principal who reads Elliott the riot act after the escaping-frogs scene drama didn't add much.

Robert Pattinson's role as Reese Witherspoon's son in Vanity Fair was cut out

Robert and Reese's gap is only nine years. That's why it makes a whole lot more sense for them to play a couple as they did in Water for Elephants rather than a mother and son.

Shailene Woodley was almost Andrew Garfield's love interest in the third Amazing Spider-Man film

After Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) was killed, producers planned for Peter to find love again with Mary Jane Watson who was supposed to be played by Shailene. And she did film a small role for that in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

The plan was to bring her back in a bigger capacity in the third film but as Marc Webb said, “It felt like a distraction. You can’t have Peter thinking about Gwen every moment and then there’s this girl next door who’s suddenly there.”

And well, since the third film didn't make it into production, Shailene never appeared as Mary Jane.

Angela Bassett's part as a villain was cut off from Mr. & Mrs. Smith

The villain role was originally shot with Jacqueline Bisset but she was then replaced by Angela. In the end, neither actress made it into the film.

According to the director, the character was cut out when he preconceived the film's ending.

Matt Damon filmed a cameo reprising his Linus Caldwell character from Ocean's 11 in Ocean's 8 but it was cut out

Matt's cameo was most likely cut out for plot reasons. But according to Mercury News, another likely reason was the petition to get him removed from the film because of his comments about Harvey Weinstein.

Jena Malone was cut out from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Jena played Jenet Klyburn, a weapons expert and ballistics specialist at S.T.A.R. labs who helps Lois Lane. However, you can still watch her performance in the Ultimate Edition home video release.

Tim Roth had some scenes in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood but they didn't make it into the final cut

Tim has worked in plenty of Tarantino's films like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, however, his part as Jay Sebring's British butler didn't make it into the Oscar contender.

Ellen Pompeo filmed a key role for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind but it didn't make it into the final cut

Ellen played Jim Carrey's ex-girlfriend Naomi but director Michel Gondry decided not to use her scenes.

Kevin Spacey's role as J. Paul Getty in All the Money in the World was cut out following sexual assault allegations against him

His part was reshot with Christopher Plummer who actually earned an Academy Award nomination for his work.

After all the hard work that they put in, it's understandable to be upset about getting cut off from the film. It doesn't look too good on their career as well.

But sadly, that's how entertainment works. Maybe that's why a lot of actors and actresses are always on their toes.

Liezel