Burt Reynolds reflected on his professional journey during his later years and delivered some brutally honest revelations about his missteps and disappointments.
The Smokey and the Bandit actor was offered the chance to play Han Solo in Star Wars but revealed he “just didn’t want to play that kind of role at the time.” In 2016, he sorrowfully confessed, “Now I regret it. I wish I would have done it.”
However, the part that ultimately went to Harrison Ford still wasn’t the most significant chance he rejected.
During his professional journey, it might be argued that Reynolds was his greatest obstacle.
In a conversation just months before his death in 2018, the actor revealed, “I don’t think there’s any actor who doesn’t think he’s made bad career choices.
In 1975, he declined the opportunity to portray Randle in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. The part, naturally, was awarded to Jack Nicholson, and by 2018, Reynolds could only admit, “I’m an idiot.”
Amazingly, he also turned down 1983’s Terms of Endearment.
The part, once again, went to Nicholson — who secured both his Oscars for roles Reynolds had declined. During a 2018 interview, the actor pretended to strangle himself when reflecting on the decision.
The same year he declined Star Wars, Reynolds eventually achieved massive box office triumph with Smokey and the Bandit in 1977, which launched a six-year streak as Hollywood’s top-earning star annually. Other significant hits included The Cannonball Run in 1981 and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas the next year.
During the peak of his fame, he was rejected for the most lucrative film series ever in 1982, when producers sought to replace Roger Moore as James Bond.
Reynolds’ explanation at the time was, “I thought no American could possibly play James Bond.”
In 2016, he confessed he’d been mistaken, “I think I was putting myself down in a way, because I think I could have done it very well… I think I would have liked it. I like that kind of tongue-in-cheek humour.”
In 2018 on Watch What Happens Live he informed host Andy Cohen that he completely regretted his choice, along with declining the Richard Gere part in Pretty Woman, simply stating, “I’m an idiot.”
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