Christian Bale: The Inside Story of the Darkest Batman revealed the actor lost out on roles in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" and "Titanic" to Leonardo DiCaprio.
He's not alone. Molly Ringwald also recently announced on Reddit she was offered Julia Robert's iconic role in "Pretty Woman."
We found 25 other actors and actresses who turned down possible career-changing roles.
Harrison Ford wasn't originally sought out to play Han Solo, nor was Al Pacino first in mind for Michael Corleone of "The Godfather." And, we may have been cheering on a much different Harvey Two-Face in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" if one actor wasn't already preoccupied with another series.
Damon told MTV in an interview about "Invictus" that he had to turn down the iconic role of Harvey "Two-Face" Dent due to filming conflicts.
"I couldn't [appear in The Dark Knight]. It was a scheduling thing. But, I never spoke to Chris Nolan."
He had no qualms regarding Nolan's final choice for the villain.
"Look, Aaron is a great actor, so the movie didn't suffer for it. Every once in a while you get [an acting opportunity] and you can't do it."
Damon also turned down lead roles in "The Quick and the Dead," a role which went to Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Majestic" and "Four Brothers."
Dicaprio was offered the lead role of porn star Dirk Diggler in "Boogie Nights." Instead, his close friend Mark Wahlberg landed the lead.
“My biggest regret is Boogie Nights,” said DiCaprio in an interview with ShowbizSpy. “I’m a huge fan of [director] Paul Thomas Anderson but the first time I met him for that role I hadn’t really seen much of his previous work. Now I love that movie.”
DiCaprio also turned down a few other roles including a film about James Dean because he didn't think he was experienced enough. One year later, he starred opposite Kate Winslet in a little film called "Titanic."
Subsequently, the "Inception" actor declined the lead in "American Psycho." Lionsgate reportedly offered DiCaprio $20 million to play serial killer Patrick Bateman. After the actor expressed interest, the studio went so far as to issue a press release saying he would star.
Director Mary Harron had no idea of this and had offered the lead to, little known actor at the time, Christian Bale. She had no interest in baby-faced DiCaprio and his teenage following at the time. In the end, Bale landed the role and DiCaprio went on to do "Gangs of New York."
