Woulda Coulda Should casting fantasies for no real reason but covd

DeNiro on the Wall of Fame in 'Do the Right Thing'

As an unapologetic film nerd, I've always been fascinated by stories of original casting choices. Those nearly locked in actors or actresses who for whatever reason drop out or pass. Very rarely are they superior to who finally ends up in the finished film. But it sometimes fun to fantasize.

Like how Sean Connery was originally offered the role of Morpheus in The Matrix, and Will Smith was under consideration for that lead and Django Unchained.

Apparently, many a leading man passed on Misery before Rob Reiner took a chance on James Caan, and that actor scored a late career triumph. I've always been particularly intrigued by the jockeying over the lead role in Apocalypse Now, or lack thereof.

Steve McQueen was apparently Francis Ford Coppola's first target for the role eventually played by Martin Sheen, but he balked at the time commitment, as did apparently Caan, Pacino, Nicholson and nearly ever other big time leading man at the time.

Here are a ten more of my favorite coulda woulda shoulda casting situations...

1) Al Pacino in Pretty Woman - I've always found it fascinating that the movie that made Julia Roberts a household name was originally conceived as a grittier affair. I could see Pacino in that, a hard R version of this story, but not showing up with a bouquet on a fire escape. Pacino did eventually team up with director Garry Marshall on the romantic dramedy Frankie & Johnny.

2) Robert De Niro in Do the Right Thing - Director Spike Lee knew what he was up to when he originally offered the role of Sal to De Niro before settling on Danny Aiello (who gives a career best, Oscar winning performance in the film). It's no slight to Aiello, but De Niro being arguably the most iconic Italian-American actor at the time would have been incredibly symbolically compelling in that part and naturally his starpower would have enhanced the profile of the film

3) Chevy Chase in Animal House - Every time I watch National Lampoon's Animal House I can't help but be distracted by the fact that Tim Matheson's Otter is so clearly written for Chase and his smartass persona at the time. That's because it was. Director John Landis talked him out of taking the part because he thought Chase was too old to play a college student (although no one buys Belushi as one either) and wanted the movie to be more of an ensemble than a star-driven vehicle, but I feel like it would have been so cool to see him and his frenemy Belushi trading comic shots.

4) Bill Murray in The People vs. Larry Flynt - I remember hearing once that the filmmakers behind this biopic about the power of free speech were considering two actors for the lead -- Murray, and the actor who eventually played the role, Woody Harrelson. It's hard to quibble with Harrelson, who gives perhaps his best performance in an Oscar nominated role, but this film could have been an earlier showcase for Murray's dramatic chops and he might have been more believable as the problematic porn king.

5) Mickey Rourke in Death Proof - I feel like I am not imagining this -- I remember straight up seeing an early teaser poster promoting Rourke as the star of Tarantino's car-centric modern noir. I have no idea what went wrong. Rourke has been cryptic, but has hinted at clashes with the director (who also had wanted to cast him in Pulp Fiction). Of course, the infamously difficult Rourke has based on countless great roles that would have fit him like a glove. Instead, Kurt Russell got to experience the career renaissance that Rourke would a year later with The Wrestler.

6) Steve Martin in Eyes Wide Shut - It's been well-documented that Stanley Kubrick was an enormous fan of The Jerk, so much so that he would re-enact scenes from it on set. Apparently in the early development of Eyes Wide Shut, he was looking at Steve Martin for a potential leading role. It's unclear if he would have played the Tom Cruise part or the role eventually inhabited by Sydney Pollack. I think either part would have been super intriguing with Martin in it. In the Cruise role, some of the darkly comic elements would be more enhanced and in movies like The Spanish Prisoner, Martin demonstrated a great facility with quiet menace. It's a shame these brilliant talents never had an opportunity to collaborate.

7) Warren Beatty in Kill Bill - This one was very close to being a done deal. Tarantino, who's always been a huge fan of the Easy Riders, Raging Bulls era of cinema, would naturally want to work with the man behind Bonnie & Clyde. Beatty was appearing in films very infrequently at this point and it would be a great resurrection of his persona. Also, no shade to the late David Carradine, but the seductive side of the Bill character would be more plausible too. This apparently came down to Beatty no wanting to commit to the long shoot. I'd love for him to appear in a Tarantino movie, if for no other reason to keep the dreadful Rules Don't Apply from being his last screen credit.

8) Michael Keaton in Splash - Beatty was also long circling this one before it ended up being a then newcomer Tom Hanks. Hanks is adorable and charming as always but another actor who was apparently offered the lead opposite Daryl Hannah: Michael Keaton. The actor has demonstrated that he and director Ron Howard can do fantastic work together (Night Shift and The Paper) and I believe he could better convey the eccentricity of a man who falls in love with a mermaid.

9) Eddie Murphy in Ghostbusters - This probably would have been too much comedy dynamite in one movie, but Murphy was originally the person Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis had in mine when they scripted the character of Winston Zeddemore. By the time the film went into production it was clear that Murphy was too huge to play a secondary role and so Ernie Hudson got the part and totally made it his own. I have always thought a Murphy-Murray collaboration would be electric, even now that they've aged. Maybe one day we'll see it.

10) Sylvester Stallone in Pulp Fiction - This may just be a rumor and not something that ever got very far, but Stallone was supposed to be under consideration for the role of Butch that Bruce Willis ultimately played in the movie (Stallone has confirmed that he too was offered the Russell role in Death Proof). Given his Rocky persona, it would have been really cool to see Stallone play a darker version of a boxer (who unintentionally kills someone in the ring) and show off the dramatic skills he eventually would in CopLand and Creed. Certainly, he could stand to work with better directors than whoever the hell was responsible for Last Blood.