Every iconic movie role Cary Grant turned down (2024)

One of the greatest stars the ‘Golden Age’ of Hollywood had to offer, Cary Grant became an indelible icon of the silver screen who almost defined what the prototypical American matinee idol should be.

Never mind the fact he was a bloke called Archie who was born in Bristol, he was the epitome of the glitz and glamour Tinseltown projected to the outside world, carrying himself with more grace and charm than almost anybody else ever has.

Grant’s filmography was hardly lacking in classics, but like many in-demand actors of his era, he found himself turning down more than a few legendary parts to focus his energies on the parts that spoke to him on a deeper level.

Every single one of them is memorable in its own way, and more than a couple of them could have changed the course of cinema history if Grant had signed on.

Every movie Cary Grant rejected:

8. Cherry Valance (Red River, Howard Hawks, 1948)

Grant and John Wayne were part of the same movie only once, when the latter made an uncredited cameo appearance in 1946 comedy Without Reservations, but they never shared the same scene.

They could have been onscreen sparring partners just a couple of years later, though, with Howard Hawks eying Grant for the part of gunslinger Cherry Valance in Red River. It wasn’t a huge role, which turned out to be a deal-breaker.

While negotiating with Hawks, Grant intimated that if he were to sign on for Red River, then the character would need to be significantly expanded. When the filmmaker refused to budge, he declined the opportunity, and it went to John Ireland instead.

7. Mr Jordan (Heaven Can Wait, Warren Beatty and Buck Henry, 1978)

Warren Beatty repeatedly pled his case for Grant to end his self-imposed retirement and return to the screen in the fantastical sports drama Heaven Can Wait, but a life in exile was simply too good to give up.

The film ended up landing nine nominations at the Academy Awards including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’, with Grant being chased for the part of Mr Jordan. He did consider it for a while, but stood firm that 1966’s Walk, Don’t Run would be his silver screen swansong.

A fellow ‘Golden Age’ veteran and dramatic heavyweight was drafted in, with James Mason taking third billing in the cast behind Beatty and Julie Christie.

6. Henry Higgins (My Fair Lady, George Cukor, 1964)

When the hit musical was being developed for the big screen, producer Jack L Warner and director George Cukor both decided that Grant was the perfect candidate to play phonetics professor Henry Higgins.

However, the star had seen the original production and didn’t think there was anybody better suited to the part than its originator. In fact, told them, “Not only won’t I play Henry Higgins, but if Rex doesn’t, I won’t even see it.”

That swayed the top brass, who allowed Rex Harrison to reprise his role, which promptly won him an Oscar for ‘Best Actor’ in a film that also took home ‘Best Picture’, ‘Best Director’, and five other gongs.

5. Norman Maine (A Star Is Born, George Cukor, 1954)

That man Cukor was nothing if not persistent, having already tried unsuccessfully to convince Grant that playing a musically inclined character was a perfect showcase for the actor to display his versatility.

Grant read the script at the director’s house when they were discussing whether or not he was ready to commit, with the director “astonished at the depth and range he was showing.” Unfortunately, Cukor realised that “he would never expose himself to the public like that,” so he turned it down.

With history repeating itself more than 20 years before Heaven Can Wait, it was James Mason who stepped into the breach, delivering an Academy Award-nominated performance as Norman Maine.

4. Joe Bradley (Roman Holiday, William Wyler, 1953)

Strangely, Grant turned down the part of Joe Bradley in the beloved screwball comedy because he thought he was too old, which is odd for one notable reason.

The actor believed he was a little long in the tooth to be playing Audrey Hepburn’s love interest, even though he’d end up doing just that ten years later when they co-starred in Charade.

To be fair, Gregory Peck was over a decade younger than Grant, with the star-powered central pairing generating effortless chemistry and endless sparks in a timeless continental caper.

3. Linus Larrabee (Sabrina, Billy Wilder, 1954)

Humphrey Bogart was the beneficiary of Grant’s reluctance to take on Sabrina, with the part of Linus Larrabee becoming one of the most famous ‘Bogie’ ever played, which takes some doing looking at the characters he inhabited.

A smart, suave, and savvy businessman would have been right in Grant’s wheelhouse, too, and he’d have made an excellent foil for both Hepburn’s title character and William Holden’s playboy, but it wasn’t to be.

Bogart was arguably better suited to playing Larrabee within the context of the story regardless of how well Grant would have done with it, but it was yet another major hit and dearly held masterpiece that he ended up turning his nose at.

2. Holly Martins (The Third Man, Carol Reed, 1949)

Quite possibly the greatest film noir ever made, The Third Man endures as a masterclass in pacing, atmosphere, editing, and technical virtuosity.

It’s Joseph Cotten who ventured to Vienna in an effort to unravel the mystery surrounding Orson Welles’ Harry Lime, but Grant’s presence would have made the eventual meeting of the two characters an all-time moment between two top performers.

It was David O Selznick who suggested him, but “the financial terms he was looking for were prohibitive.” Which means he was asking for too much money, and missed out on a seminal moment in cinematic noir as a result.

1. James Bond (Dr No, Terence Young, 1962)

Grant was the best man at producer Cubby Broccoli’s 1959 wedding to Dana Natol, where his interest was first gauged on potentially playing Ian Fleming’s James Bond in the upcoming Dr No.

He wasn’t against the idea, but with plans afoot for an ongoing series, Grant had no interest in signing as five-picture contract. In his mid-50s by that point, he only wanted to do it once, which saw him politely decline the advances.

Of course, Sean Connery turned 007 into a worldwide icon by the end of his very first scene, with the franchise’s entire trajectory changing in an instant had Grant headlined Dr No.

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