Richard Donner’s The Omen, released in 1976, tells the story of Richard Thorn (played by Gregory Peck), who adopts a child named Damien after his biological son dies at birth. As time goes on, strange occurrences begin to plague the family, including Damien’s nanny hanging herself in front of everyone at his birthday party. A priest tries to warn Richard that Damien is the Antichrist to no avail, and is later killed in a freak accident. Richard starts to suspect that the priest may have been right, and sets out to kill Damien to prevent any further tragedies.
Even after filming began, there were concerns over Peck playing the lead role because of his good-guy image. Before his involvement, several actors were considered for the role. Roy Scheider of Jaws fame turned down the opportunity early on, as did Charlton Heston. Perhaps the most interesting name that was being thrown around back then was Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang star Dick Van Dyke.
In 2000, Van Dyke told Larry King that he didn’t do the movie because of the violence and gore. Reflecting on the decision 13 years later, he said, “My God, that was stupid. Gregory Peck got the part, but at that time there was a lot of violence in it—people impaled on things,” he continued. “I was pretty puritan at the time, a goody-two-shoes. I felt I’d put myself in a position where the audience trusted me. I turned down several things for that reason—either taste or violence or sex or something.”
More recently, Van Dyke said he didn’t regret losing the role to Peck because he “didn’t want to do that kind of movie.” One project he wishes he hadn’t turned down, though, was a film that would’ve paired him with Cary Grant. He also joked that he’s still mad at his agent for passing on a Sophia Loren movie on his behalf because he wouldn’t have gotten top billing. “I don’t care if they mention my name,” he said at a charity event in 2025. “I would’ve paid them! I never forgave him for that.”
The post Why Dick Van Dyke Turned Down the Lead Role in ‘The Omen’ appeared first on VICE.
