Finding the right person to voice an animated character can be difficult. You might think you’ve picked the perfect person and realize after production’s already begun that things just aren’t gelling. Then there’s the very real possibility that you could end up with your top choice only to find out they can no longer finish the job. Here are a few instances where things didn’t work out as initially intended.
3. Bill Murray
Pete Docter, who directed the 2001 animated Disney-Pixar comedy Monsters, Inc., originally wanted Bill Murray to play the role of the giant blue and purple monster Sulley, yet, for reasons still not understood, the stars did not align. Murray expressed interest in doing it and even did a screen test for the part, but when Docter tried to call him afterward, he couldn’t reach him. Murray apparently has a long history of not answering the call when opportunities come knocking, and this is one of many roles he has missed out on because of it. The Sulley role was ultimately voiced by Roseanne and The Big Lebowski star John Goodman, who performed alongside Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski in the final film.
2. Paul Reubens
Five years before Robert Zemeckis’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was finally released by Touchstone Pictures in 1988, a very different voice actor was being considered for the lead role of Roger Rabbit. Paul Reubens, who made his debut as Pee-wee Herman in 1980, initially recorded a screen test during the early stages of production. The available footage is very brief and very Pee-wee-like, and offers a fascinating glimpse into the process of developing the character for the screen. The role would ultimately go to comedian Charles Fleischer, but not before Reubens found success on his own with Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and Pee-wee’s Playhouse, respectively.
1. Chris Farley
The lead role in Shrek nearly went to Chris Farley. Sadly, he died shortly before he finished recording his lines. He had already been cast, and the filmmakers worked with him for more than a year before his death. According to David Spade, Farley was only four or five days away from wrapping up. After his death, his brother was asked to complete the unfinished dialogue. Mike Myers, of course, ended up with the role, but, weirdly enough, the filmmakers never told him who it was intended for. However, Myers suspected it after seeing that the clay model of the character they’d made looked exactly like Farley.
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