Without playing Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl, Blake Lively may not be the megastar she is today — and it's hard to believe that the role almost ended up going to Jennifer Lawrence instead.
On the subject of Blake Lively, there's a legendary role that she missed out on herself. She almost played Karen in Mean Girls, though Amanda Seyfried ultimately ended up getting the gig. Originally, Amanda was set to play Regina, but she also read for Karen.
The lead in Jerry Maguire was always going to be played by a man named Tom, but it was nearly Hanks instead of Cruise. Director Cameron Crowe said that he originally wrote the role with the Sleepless in Seattle star in mind, but after auditioning, he decided it wasn't for him.
A few different actresses have stepped into Catwoman's sleek suit over the years, and Annette Bening was almost one of them before the filming of Batman Returns.
We know and love Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, but she wasn't the original Mother of Dragons. That was actually Tamzin Merchant, who played the role in the pilot that never ended up seeing the light of day.
One of Claire Danes' most unforgettable roles will always be Juliet in 1996's Romeo + Juliet, but it almost never happened because Natalie Portman was up for the role, too.
After Friends (and Joey) came to an end, Matt LeBlanc was planning to move on to another sitcom. He was offered the role of Phil Dunphy in Modern Family (which ultimately ended up going to Ty Burrell) but turned it down.
There's simply no way that anyone but Steve Carell could play Michael Scott in The Office, but it was almost Bob Odenkirk first. Ultimately, casting decided to go with Steve, and Bob would eventually make a cameo in the show as a nod to that choice.
One of Ryan Gosling's most memorable roles is Noah in The Notebook, but George Clooney was originally attached to play the character, with Paul Newman as the older version of him.
