Real ones have been in love with Noah Wyle since his early days on the ’90s beloved NBC medical drama ER as Dr. John Carter. While Wyle has been “back” in ER with his second starring role in the medical drama The Pitt, that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had opportunities to widen his range.
On a podcast recently, he revealed he had to turn down some pretty iconic roles, including Good Night, and Good Luck as well as what was sure to be an incredible performance in Saving Private Ryan.
The film, which won 5 Academy Awards out of 11 nominations, plus a boatload of other notable accolades, was a huge opportunity to miss, but one Wyle doesn’t necessarily “regret” or hold any grudges over.
“I’m almost glad that I didn’t do them because those guys made those parts,” Wyle explained to the Still Here Hollywood podcast. “I got offered the part of ‘[Corporal] Upham,’ which was Jeremy Davies’ part. And he was so phenomenal in that, I couldn’t imagine doing anything close to what he did.”
Wyle went on to say that he also was offered the role of Private Ryan, played by Matt Damon, but his ER obligations kept him out of the running.
Related: Noah Wyle Wins First Emmy After 26-Year Nomination Drought
Other Iconic Actors Who Turned Down Equally Iconic Roles
Wyle’s story is a fairly common one across Hollywood. In fact, some of the most notable silver screen names have had to reject a really incredible role or two.
Will Smith cited scheduling and the story’s concept as too “weird” at the time as the reason for passing up The Matrix. Instead, he took on Wild Wild West, a move People reported he claims to regret.
John Travoltawas busy with Pulp Fiction, so he had to turn down the iconic role of Forrest Gump, which Tom Hanks ultimately took on and turned into an Oscar-worthy performance.
Sean Connerycould have been the one screaming “You shall not pass” as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings, but reportedly turned down the role because he didn’t understand the script. Ian McKellen ended up turning it into a legendary and beloved performance.
George Lucasalmost didn’t cast Harrison Ford as Han Solo in Star Wars due to a self-imposed rule of not casting anyone he’d worked with before. The two had worked together on American Graffiti. Ford, still relatively unknown, was also working as a carpenter in Francis Ford Coppola’s offices when Lucas and Richard Dreyfuss walked in and began the interviews for the role. They asked Ford to read lines for them as a favor, but ultimately ended up casting him anyway.
As they say: That’s showbiz, baby!
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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