22 Actors Who Almost Didn't Get Cast in Their Breakout Role

It's hard to imagine someone besides Gabourey Sidibe playing the titular role of Claireece "Precious" Jones in Precious, but producers initially had a bigger name in mind for the role: Jennifer Hudson. However, after portraying Effie White in Dreamgirls, Hudson wasn't interested in taking on another character whose weight played a significant role in her story. In her 2012 book, I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down, Hudson wrote, "As much as I was moved by this film, I wanted to try a role that had nothing whatsoever to do with my weight." Later, after auditioning 500 women, director Lee Daniels finally discovered Sidibe.