Most of the time, actors turn down or drop out of a role over something like scheduling conflicts. Sometimes, however, they make the choice because of a moral conviction or a personal preference.
Here are 14 actors who had very good reasons for not taking a role:
1. Zendaya dropped out of Lifetime's biopic Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B after the project received backlash from the late singer's family. On Twitter, the actor said she was "honored to portray [Aaliyah] and pay tribute to her [but] if she is going to do it, she wants to do it right."
She told MTV, "I just felt the project wasn't 100% there. I feel [that] production-wise everything just felt a little rushed. And I think because she's someone I admire and I love so much, it can't be done halfway, or not to the standards I think it should be done at, so I just decided not to do it."
The role went to Alexandra Shipp.
2. Similarly, Will Ferrell backed out of Reagan, a planned comedy about Ronald Reagan experiencing Alzheimer's-induced dementia while in office, after the film received criticism from both the late president's children and the Alzheimer's Association.
In a statement, the Alzheimer's Association said, "[This organization] is appalled that anyone would plan to develop a film that satirizes an individual living with Alzheimer's or another dementia. Would filmmakers consider using a fatal form of cancer or another deadly disease for comedy? It's time to stop this forever."
3. Amandla Stenberg auditioned for the role of Shuri in Black Panther, but they removed themself from the running because they felt the character should be played by a darker-skinned actor.
She told Variety, "That was not a space that I should have taken up. And it was so exhilarating to see it fulfilled by people who should have been a part of it and who deserved it and who were right for it. I just wasn't."
The role went to Letitia Wright.
4. About three days into his role as the titular character's voice in Howard the Duck, Robin Williams quit out of frustration because he was "being handcuffed in order to match the flapping duck's bill." The puppet's mouth movements had already been filmed to match the puppeteers' bland delivery of the lines, essentially rendering the comedian's iconic improvisation style impossible.
Chip Zien, who replaced him, told the Hollywood Reporter, "What I was told was by the third day, Robin said, 'I can't do this. It is insane. I can't get the rhythm of this. I am being confined...' So, on Memorial Day 1985, I got a call from my agent, who said, 'You have to get right to the airport! Robin Williams just quit, and you're now Howard the Duck. You need to get there tonight. There is a ticket waiting for you at the counter.' I was incredibly excited."
5. Emilia Clarke declined the role of Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey. She said, "The last time that I was naked on camera on [Game of Thrones] was a long time ago, and yet it is the only question that I ever get asked because I'm a woman." She was "sick and tired of [the questions] because [she] did it for the character."
On the Hollywood Reporter’s Dramatic Actress Roundtable, she said, "So, that coming up, I was like, 'I can't.' I did a minimal amount, and I'm pigeonholed for life, so me saying yes to [Fifty Shades], where the entire thing is about sensuality and sex and being naked and all of that stuff, I was just like, 'No way am I going to voluntarily walk into that situation and then never be able to look someone in the eye.'"
The role went to Dakota Johnson.
6. Anne Hathaway turned down the role of Alison Scott in Knocked Up because she worried about how her future self might feel about the explicit birth scene. "Having not experienced motherhood myself, I didn't know how I was gonna feel on the other side about giving birth," she said.
She told Allure, "And by the way, I could pop a kid out and think, 'Oh, well, I really should have done that movie.'"
The role went to Katherine Heigl.
7. Warren Beatty declined playing the titular character in Kill Bill because it was being filmed in China, and he didn't want to leave his kids for that long.
He recommended David Carradine, who ended up getting the part.
8. Selena Gomez reportedly turned down the role of Mitchie Torres in Camp Rock because she "knew that if she had passed on it, that Demi [Lovato, her childhood friend] would get the part."
The part indeed went to Demi, becoming their breakout role.