20+ Actors Who Auditioned For One Part, But Were Cast For An Entirely Different One

Some casting stories are so unexpected they feel almost made up. An actor walks into an audition for one character, then leaves with a completely different role, and sometimes that switch changes the whole movie or show.

That is exactly what happened with the actors in this roundup, from Marvel and Harry Potter to Mean Girls, Twilight, and more. Some were considered for the lead, others were read for a side character, and a few ended up in roles that became even more memorable than the ones they first wanted.

Here are the casting swaps that made fans do a double take.

1. Tom Hiddleston tried out for Thor before landing the role of Loki in the MCU.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon / YouTube / Via youtube.com

2. In The Hunger Games, Liam Hemsworth was considered for the role of Peeta.

Murray Close/Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection

3. Before landing the role of Draco, Tom Felton tried out for Harry and Ron in Harry Potter.

Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

4. Chadwick Boseman tried out for Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy before becoming T'Challa/Black Panther in the Marvel Universe.

Disney /Courtesy Everett Collection, Matt Kennedy / Marvel / Disney/Courtesy Everett Collection

5. Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel both tried out for Rapunzel in Tangled before landing the roles of Anna and Elsa in Frozen a few months later.

Michael Germana/Everett Collection, Disney /Courtesy Everett Collection

6. Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams initially went for opposite roles in Mean Girls.

Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection

7. Originally, Jared Hess, the director of Napoleon Dynamite, intended for Jon Heder to play Randy the bully. Napoleon was ultimately played by Heder.

Fox Searchlight, Fox Searchlight / courtesy Everett Collection

8. Prior to playing Radio Raheem in Do the Right Thing, Bill Nunn auditioned for the role of Senor Love Daddy (later played by Samuel L. Jackson).

Universal Pictures

9. Gabrielle Union tried out for Monica before landing the role of Shawnee in Love & Basketball.

Despite wearing the same outfit she used to play basketball, she was apparently informed that she didn't really look like someone who had played basketball before.

New Line Cinema / courtesy Everett Collection, New Line Cinema

This reminds us of Kaley Cuoco’s tense set moment with the A-list actress who overlooked her on Charmed.

10. Before playing Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow in the trilogy, Cillian Murphy auditioned for Bruce Wayne/Batman in Batman Begins.

Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

11. Before being cast as Cinderella herself, Lily James tried for Anastasia, one of the stepsisters, in the live-action Cinderella.

She had blonde hair when she arrived, which she believes is why she was requested to perform for Cinderella while she was there.

Jonathan Olley/ Disney / courtesy Everett Collection

12. In High School Musical, Corbin Bleu auditioned for Ryan, while Lucas Grabeel auditioned for Troy.

Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection

13. Monique Coleman and Ashley Tisdale both tried out for Gabriella before landing the roles of Taylor and Sharpay, respectively.

Walt Disney Co. / courtesy Everett Collection

14. Both Wyatt Oleff and Jack Dylan Grazer, who played Stanley and Eddie, auditioned for Bill in It.

Brooke Palmer/ Warner Bros. /Courtesy Everett Collection,

15. Diana Silvers was approached to audition for Ryan in Booksmart, but she didn't think she had the right look for the role, so she read for Hope instead and was cast.

Francois Duhamel / Annapurna Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

16. Jackson Rathbone was on the verge of earning the part of Edward in Twilight. Instead, he was cast as Jasper.

Summit Entertainment

17. Thomas Brodie-Sangster tried out for Gally in The Maze Runner, as well as Newt.

20th Century Fox

18. To All the Boys I've Loved Before almost cast Noah Centineo as Josh. He eventually landed the role of Peter.

Netflix

19. Shannen Doherty auditioned for the role of Veronica in Heathers but was instead invited to read for Heather Chandler. She did, however, like Heather Duke and was cast in that role.

New World Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection, New World / courtesy Everett Collection

20. In 10 Things I Hate About You, Joseph Gordon-Levitt auditioned for both Cameron and Michael, and was cast as Cameron.

Touchstone Pictures/ Courtesy Everett Collection

21. Wesley Snipes tried out for Darryl Jenks in Coming to America in the 1980s but was not cast. He will, however, play General Izzi in the next sequel.

Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection, Amazon Studios

That is a lot of near misses and lucky breaks in one list.

Casting teams clearly had a different plan in mind for each of these actors, and the final choices ended up shaping some very familiar characters.

Some of these swaps are hard to picture any other way.

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