12 Actors And Actresses Who Were Fired!
Published on April 24, 2014. Updated April 4, 2017In real life, people get fired all the time. As it turns out, the same thing happens in Hollywood. Actors and actresses don’t always have a lot of control over their careers, which means that they can get the pink slip too – we just don’t always hear about it. Here are 12 actors and actresses who were fired…
12. Shannen Doherty – Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed
Shannen Doherty has been fired from a couple of different shows. She was kicked off of “Beverly Hills: 90210” for being late, feuding with her cast mates, and for posing in Playboy. Several years later, she was kicked off of “Charmed;” however, this time it was for feuding with the production team and her co-stars.
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com11. James Purefoy – V for Vendetta
James Purefoy – who is best known for his role in “The Following” – was originally cast as the masked anarchist, V, in “V for Vendetta.” Unfortunately, he couldn’t stand having to wear the mask for the entire duration of the film so, six weeks into filming, he left and was replaced by Hugo Weaving.
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com10. Christian Bale – American Psycho
Christian Bale was initially offered the role of serial killer Patrick Bateman in “American Psycho,” but he was dropped from the project in favor of a bigger star, Leonardo DiCaprio, who ended up pulling out of the film to star in “The Beach.” The part was eventually offered to Bale again and the rest is history.
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com9. Isaiah Washington – Grey’s Anatomy
Isaiah Washington was fired from “Grey’s Anatomy” for making homophobic remarks. During an argument with his co-star, T.R. Knight, Washington reportedly called him a “fa**ot.” To make matters worse, while being interviewed at the Golden Globes, he joked, “I love gay. I wanted to be gay. Please let me be gay.”
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com8. Terrence Howard – Iron Man
Terrence Howard – who was the highest paid cast member in the first installment of the “Iron Man” films – was dropped from the sequels and he blames Robert Downey Jr. Howard explains, “They came to me [for] the second and said, ‘We will pay you one-eighth of what we contractually had for you because we think the second one will be successful with or without you.’ And I called my friend that I helped get the first job, and he didn’t call me back for three months.”
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com7. Stuart Townsend – Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Stuart Towsend – who dated Charlize Theron for about nine years – was originally cast as Aragorn in the “Lord of The Rings” trilogy. However, the day before filming began, he was fired and replaced by Viggo Mortensen. Apparently the director thought that Towsend looked too young for the role.
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com6. Charlie Sheen – Two and a Half Men
Charlie Sheen was fired from “Two and a Half Men” for his “dangerously self-destructive conduct,” for being difficult on set and for the inflammatory comments he made about the show’s producer and co-creator, Chuck Loree. “They fired me, man. I made them $5 billion and gave you guys almost a decade of entertainment and they fired me,” Sheen lamented.
CarlaVanWagoner / Shutterstock.com5. Edward Norton – The Avengers
Edward Norton – who played Bruce Banner in “The Hulk” – was not invited to reprise his role in “The Avengers.” He was interested in playing Bruce Banner again and even met with the director, Joss Whedon; however, the studio released a statement explaining that they would recast a more “collaborative” actor for the role. Ouch!
Miro Vrlik Photography / Shutterstock.com4. Ryan Gosling – The Lovely Bones
Ryan Gosling was originally cast to play Jack Salmon in “The Lovely Bones.” However, when he transformed himself for the role with a beard and sixty extra pounds without discussing it with the director, it ended up costing him the job. Gosling left production two days before filming began and was replaced by Mark Wahlberg.
Featureflash / Shutterstock.com3. Mackenzie Phillips – One Day at a Time
Mackenzie Phillips became a big star thanks to her role as Julie Cooper Horvath on the TV show “One Day at a Time.” Unfortunately, because of her drug and alcohol problems, she would arrive late on set and was often incoherent during rehearsals. Despite taking a six-week break to get sober, she couldn’t get her act together, so she was fired from the show.
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com2. Megan Fox – Transformers 3
Megan Fox was cast in the first two installments of “Transformers” and she was set to star in the third instalment as well. However, after comparing working with Michael Bay, the film’s director, to working under Hitler, Steve Spielberg, the executive producer, ordered Bay to fire the young star.
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com1. Lindsay Lohan – The Other Side
Lindsay Lohan was lined up to appear in “The Other Side” alongside Woody Harrelson, Giovanni Ribisi, and Alanis Morissette, but producers of the film decided to drop her because she was “not bankable enough.” Considering that her last big screen films “I Know Who Killed Me” and “Georgia Rule” bombed at the box office, this was probably a wise decision.
s_bukley / Shutterstock.com