28 Actors Who Were Almost Cast in Iconic Movie and TV Roles

Natalie Portman was all set to star as Juliet Capulet in "Romeo + Juliet" — that is, until filming began and director Baz Luhrmann realized how young Portman looked compared to Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Romeo. According to Portman, the age difference was just too noticeable, so she was replaced by Claire Danes, who's a few years older. As the actor explained during a 1996 interview, " . . . it wasn't appropriate in the eyes of the film company or the director Baz. And it was kind of a mutual decision that it just wasn't going to be right at the time and I think the film came out really, really beautifully and Claire Danes did a really, really beautiful job."