Tom Hanks could have been... Jerry Maguire (Jerry Maguire)
The Part: The cash-hungry sports agent who suddenly discovers he has a heart of gold when he strikes out on his own with just a solitary client for company.
How They Would’ve Played It: Hanks' everyman persona would have Jerry start as a good egg and remain that way throughout the film.
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: Because, at the beginning of the movie, Cruise’s smarminess is utterly convincing, which really helps with the emotional payoff when his character proves himself to be a decent sort after all.
Bill Murray could have been... Batman (Batman)
The Part: Somewhat incredibly, Bill Murray was Warners' first choice to play Batman before Michael Keaton got the role, with the film envisaged as an Adam West-style camp-fest!
How They Would've Played It: Imagine a down in the mouth Batman making withering quips about the Joker’s ridiculous attire.
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: Because the Burton films were plenty camp enough without completely playing it for laughs.
Will Smith could have been Neo (The Matrix)
The Part: Thomas Anderson, a bored computer programmer who turns out to be the saviour of humanity.
How They Would’ve Played It: With wisecracking abandon, responding to every quirk of the Matrix universe with a cocked eyebrow and a ready quip.
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: As Smith says himself, “I would have absolutely messed up The Matrix . At that point I wasn't smart enough as an actor to let the movie be.”
Tom Selleck could have been... Indiana Jones (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)
The Part: Selleck famously turned down the part of the whip-cracking archaeologist in order to film another series of Magnum P.I. What a choker!
How They Would’ve Played It: To be fair, Selleck is a charming actor in his own right, but his Indy would have carried just the slight whiff of cheese. Along with a 'tache, of course.
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: We like Selleck, but Harrison Ford is utterly inseparable from the role. Would Selleck have pulled off that scene in the market with such insouciant cool? We think not.
Madonna could have been... Ginger McKenna (Casino)
The Part: Sharon Stone bagged herself an Oscar nomination for her supporting turn in Casino , as the glamorous Ginger McKenna. However, Marty’s original choice was Madonna…
How They Would’ve Played It: All pouting and flouncing, with the actual nuts and bolts of acting passed over in favour of a surfeit of leopardprint.
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: Madonna can occasionally be fairly watchable. She can also turn out tripe like Swept Away . We’d rather not have taken the risk.
Daniel Day-Lewis could have been... William Shakespeare (Shakespeare In Love)
The Part: The famous bard, and star of Oscar-scooping romcom, Shakespeare In Love .
How They Would’ve Played It: Day-Lewis would have moved into the Globe Theatre for six months, insisting on directing every play going, before bringing that experience to bear on an intense, scowling portrayal of old Shakers.
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: Do we think Day-Lewis might be a tad too actorly for such a frothy, light-hearted romp?
Robin Williams could have been... Jack Torrance (The Shining)
The Part: The loving father turned psychopathic axe-murderer in Stanley Kubrick’s horror classic, The Shining .
How They Would’ve Played It: Williams has done creepy to good effect in One Hour Photo and Insomnia , but the temptation to go sailing over the top would surely have been too great with this one.
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: Has there ever been a more terrifying portrayal of insanity than Jack Nicholson’s spectacular unravelling? Best leave it be, eh?
Sean Penn could have been... Tyler Durden (Fight Club)
The Part: Fight Club ’s narrator’s alter-ego was initially created with Sean Penn in mind, only for the star to eventually drop out of proceedings.
How They Would’ve Played It: Penn certainly would have made a heavyweight opponent for Ed Norton, and we can see him playing up Tyler’s appetite-for-destruction side with relish.
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: Because he’s not quite cool enough. Brad Pitt on the other hand really does embody the whole “look how you want to look, fuck how you want to fuck” side of things.
Stuart Townsend could have been... Aragorn (The Lord Of The Rings)
The Part: In fact Townsend was cast and had begun filming, before Peter Jackson decided he needed to go a different way for his King in waiting.
How They Would’ve Played It: Whenever we imagine this, Townsend always seems far too fresh-faced to convince as a grizzled warrior. We’re thinking he’d be a more earnest character, much like Sam Claflin’s anodyne prince in Snow White And The Huntsman .
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: Because gruff, bearded Viggo Mortensen was a far better fit, as he and Sean Bean pretty much embodied the twin hopes for the race of men.
Jeremy Irons could have been... Hannibal Lecter (The Silence Of The Lambs)
The Part: The Chianti-quaffing cannibal with a liking for stitching up his fellow criminals. The bloody grass!
How They Would’ve Played It: Irons was actually offered the role, and with his icy, unsettling demeanour we can understand why. If it weren’t for Hopkins, we’d say this sounds a good call.
Why We're Glad They Didn't Get It: Because it’s difficult to imagine anyone doing it better than Hopkins, who manages the considerable trick of making a mass-murdering cannibal seem somewhat endearing.
