Actor Gene Hackman has created some of Hollywood's most iconic roles. During his career he won two Academy Awards and starred in hits such as "The French Connection" and "Superman." However, he also missed out on some of Tinseltown's most notable and memorable roles. Some of those roles went to actors who turned them into career-defining performances.
The following are several parts Hackman either turned down or was turned down for.
1. Hannibal Lecter, "Silence of the Lambs"
Serial killer and all-around creepy guy Hannibal Lecter is one of Anthony Hopkins' best-known and admired performances. Before he landed the role, however, Hackman originally planned to play it, even purchasing the rights to the book and intending to write the script, direct the film, and play the lead.
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As quoted by
EgoTV, Hackman said: "I optioned the novel and tried to do a screenplay on it, which was great fun, but I was too respectful. I was only 100 pages into the novel and I had about 90 pages of movie script going. I realized I had a lot to learn. I got busy with another film and gave the rights back to – Orion, I think it was. Kind of a dumb move as it turned out."
2. Roy Neary, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
According to the website Uproxx, Hackman was considered for the leading role – along with Al Pacino – but declined. Originally written for Jack Nicholson, the part eventually went to Richard Dreyfuss, in what was one of his most memorable performances.
3. Mr. Robinson, "The Graduate"
According to Splitsider, Hackman was originally cast as the husband of Anne Bancroft's character, who has an affair with her daughter's boyfriend, played by Dustin Hoffman. Hackman and Hoffman were roommates at the time. Director Mike Nichols fired Hackman just three weeks into production, on the basis that Hackman was too young. Indeed, Hackman was just six years older than Hoffman, but had been hired to play someone old enough to be Hoffman's father.
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