Five huge actors who rejected Martin Scorsese
Over the last 60 years, Martin Scorsese has honed a reputation as one of the most well-respected figures in cinema. A proponent for film preservation, an advocate for maintaining the artistry in his craft, and a newly-realised social media star, he remains just as relevant today as he was on Taxi Driver’s first release in 1976. Not to mention, he has gifted cinema with some of the greatest films of all time.
Scorsese has a mammoth reputation and has consistently worked with the best of the best, but his impressive CV hasn’t always been quite enough to win every actor over. For various reasons, a number of huge names have turned Scorsese’s offers to collaborate down over the years, including his long-standing collaborative partner Robert De Niro.
De Niro and Scorsese first worked together on Mean Streets in 1973, beginning a lucrative partnership. They made eight films together over the next few decades, culminating with Casino in 1995, before parting ways until 2015. At that time, the two did keep in contact, but De Niro rejected Scorsese’s offer to feature in 2002’s Gangs of New York.
“That was just a check-in,” Scorsese recalled to Deadline, “Literally, he said, ‘What are you doing?’ ‘I’m doing this. You interested? ‘Nah.’ ‘OK’”. There seemed to be no animosity; the two kept in close communication about their artistic endeavours and returned to their partnership when the time was right. Another huge name that rejected Gangs of New York was Willem Dafoe due to delays and scheduling conflicts.
While De Niro and Dafoe had existing relationships with Scorsese, making their rejections slightly less hurtful, Dustin Hoffman’s rejection of Taxi Driver was far more brutal. The actor met the director without knowing who he was and thought he seemed “crazy!”
As Hoffman recalled to Digital Spy, “He talked a mile a minute, telling me what the movie would be about. I was thinking, ‘What is he talking about?’” Hoffman would soon come to regret his quick judgement as Taxi Driver became one of the most influential films of all time. “I made so many dumb mistakes [turning down movies],” he reflected, “The list is endless.”
Harrison Ford also turned down the filmmaking legend’s offer to star in Cape Fear due to the role he had been offered. Scorsese had already cast De Niro as the lead, a convicted rapist who seeks revenge on a lawyer, and wanted Ford to take on the latter role. The Star Wars star wanted to switch roles, but De Niro was not willing to trade.
In 2004, Angelina Jolie rejected Scorsese’s offer to feature in the DiCaprio-fronted The Aviator due to the involvement of Harvey Weinstein. The Lara Croft star detailed an experience with the convicted sex offender in an interview with The Guardian, stating, “It was beyond a pass, it was something I had to escape.”
As a result, Jolie turned down Scorsese’s offer, recalling, “I was asked to do The Aviator, but I said no because he was involved. I never associated or worked with him again.”
Find the list of actors who rejected Martin Scorsese below.
Five actors who rejected Martin Scorsese:
- Robert De Niro
- Willem Dafoe
- Dustin Hoffman
- Angelina Jolie
- Harrison Ford
