Shia LaBeouf

Throughout 2022, rumors involving the Don’t Worry Darling drama basically took over public discourse. Among the rumors was that the movie’s director Olivia Wilde fired Shia LaBeouf from his leading role. 

“I say this as someone who is such an admirer of his work,” Wilde told Variety. “His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions. He has a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances.”

Soon after that, LeBeouf refuted Wilde’s statement saying, “You and I both know the reasons for my exit. I quit your film because your actors and I couldn’t find time to rehearse.” In addition, LaBeouf also shared text exchanges with Wilde and a video of the actress/director which she reportedly sent to him after he quit the production. “I feel like I’m not ready to give up on this yet, and I too am heartbroken and I want to figure this out,” Wilde said in the video.

LeBeouf was later replaced by Harry Styles. 

Julianne Moore

In an appearance at Watch What Happens Live, Julianne Moore revealed she was fired from the 2018 film Can You Ever Forgive Me? “I didn’t leave that movie, I was fired,” the Oscar winner revealed. “[The director, Nicole Holofcener] fired me … I think she didn’t like what I was doing.” 

“The only other time I was fired was when I was working at a yogurt stand when I was 15,” she added. “So it felt, yeah, it felt bad.”

Moore’s character was later replaced by Melissa McCarthy. 

Ryan Gosling

Believe it or not, Hollywood heartthrob Ryan Gosling was once fired from a movie set. According to the actor, it all happened after he was cast as Jack Salmon in 2009’s The Lovely Bones. Throughout preproduction, Gosling, who was adamant that his character should be “210 pounds,” gained weight, including drinking melted Haagen Dazs ice cream when he was thirsty.

Days before they started filming, however, the movie’s director Peter Jackson met with Gosling and realized he was not aligned with Gosling’s vision. “We had a different idea of how the character should look,” Gosling told The Hollywood Reporter.

“We didn’t talk very much during the preproduction process, which was the problem,” Gosling explained. “It was a huge movie, and there’s so many things to deal with, and he couldn’t deal with the actors individually. I just showed up on set, and I had gotten it wrong.”

“Then I was fat and unemployed,” Gosling concluded. 

Gosling’s role was eventually filled by Mark Wahlberg.

Megan Fox

Back in 2009, Megan Fox opened up to Wonderland Magazine about working with Transformers director Michael Bay. “He’s like Napoleon and he wants to create this insane, infamous mad man reputation,” she told the outlet. “He wants to be like Hitler on his sets, and he is. So he’s a nightmare to work for.” 

Shortly after, according to Bay himself, he was told by executive producer Steven Spielberg to “Fire her right now.”

“I wasn’t hurt, because I know that’s just Megan,” Bay told GQ. “Megan loves to get a response. And she does it in kind of the wrong way. I’m sorry, Megan. I’m sorry I made you work twelve hours. I’m sorry that I’m making you show up on time. Movies are not always warm and fuzzy.” Ouch!

Fox’s role was then given to Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

Holly Hunter

Although 2005’s Chicken Little became a hit with young audiences, there was definitely some drama behind the scenes. According to the movie’s producer Randy Fullmer to Collider, the first draft of the movie was “boarded and finished” when Michael Eisner, former Chairman and CEO of Disney, made them start from scratch. 

As Fullmer explained, Chicken Little was initially thought of as a girl, and was voiced by Oscar winner Holly Hunter. Eisner, however, requested another approach. “I don’t want it to be a girl, I want it to be a boy,” Eisner said. As a result, Hunter was fired and the movie was completely redone. 

Chicken Little was eventually voiced by Zach Braff.

Colin Firth

After initially signing on to voice Paddington in 2014’s Paddington, Colin Firth was let go of the production due to changes in vision. “I cannot thank [Firth] enough for his contribution to Paddington,” the film’s director Paul King told Entertainment Weekly, per BBC. “We love the voice and we love the bear, but as our young bear came into being, we agreed that the two didn’t seem to fit. So, with somewhat heavy hearts we decided to part ways.”

Firth, for his part, kept his reaction to the decision totally light-hearted. “After a period of denial, we’ve chosen ‘conscious uncoupling,’” the actor said, poking fun at Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin iconic breakup statement. 

Firth’s role was later given to Ben Whishaw.

Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway has long rumored to have been fired and replaced in Judd Apatow’s 2007 movie Knocked Up. Talking to Allure about their creative differences, Hathaway explained that it all stemmed from one specific graphic birthing scene. “My issue with it was that having not experienced motherhood myself, I didn’t know how I was gonna feel on the other side about giving birth,” she told the outlet. “And by the way, I could pop a kid out and think, ‘Oh, well, I really should have done that movie.’”

Hathaway’s character was then given to Katherine Heigl. 

Christian Bale

Although American Psycho has turned out to be one of Christian Bale’s most iconic roles, it turns out the role was not always his. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Bale talked about being fired from the movie to be replaced by Leonardo DiCaprio only to have been rehired later on. 

“I just pretended it didn’t happen,” Bale said of being let go. “I’m English, so I never go to a gym, but for that role it was part of the whole deal that I had to go. I still kept going down to the gym every day because I was going, ‘Oh, I’m making the film.’”

“I would call [director] Mary Harron—she’d be having a nice dinner with her family—and I’d go, ‘So Mary, so when we do this scene….’ And she’d go, ‘Christian, Oliver Stone is directing, DiCaprio is playing your role.’ I said, ‘Right, but you said it, my role, all right? It is coming back, so let’s talk about it, because it’s coming back to us.’ And she’d go, ‘Christian, can you please leave me alone?’”

Chloë Grace Moretz

In another voice-acting story, Chloë Grace Moretz also recorded a whole movie before being let go. In this instance, Moretz played the role of Penny in Bolt before being replaced by Disney’s rising star Miley Cyrus. As a nod to her efforts, however, Moretz’s voiceovers were still used in the younger version of Penny in the movie. 

Judy Garland

In the 1967 movie Valley of the Dolls, Hollywood icon Judy Garland was set to Helen Lawson. Shortly after production started filming, however, Garland was fired. According to The Cut, the decision was because of two reasons: Garland’s irreconcilable differences with the director Mark Robson and her ongoing struggles with alcohol abuse which made her unpredictable and unreliable. When she left, Garland reportedly took her revenge and stole her costumes from set. 

The role was later given to Susan Hayward.

Sylvester Stallone

Despite still being in the beginning of his career, Sylvester Stallone always had a vision for what roles he wanted to play. According to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Stallone explained why that cost him a job. “In the early ’80s, I called Sly about an offer I had received for [Beverly Hills Cop] that I was really excited about him doing,” said CAA executive Ron Meyer. “I knew that he probably wouldn’t want to do this film because it somewhat parodied his tough-guy image.” 

When he got the script, Stallone made some major changes. “Ron told me, ‘Don’t change it,’ but I took the script and rewrote it as a kind of compromise, where the guy was action-oriented but he also had a wry sense of humor,” Stallone remembered. Soon after, Stallone was fired from the project. 

His role was later offered to Eddie Murphy. 

Rachelle Lefevre

Prior to filming the third film of the Twilight saga, Rachelle Lefevre was fired and replaced from her role as the villainous Victoria due to a scheduling issue. 

“I was stunned by Summit [Entertainment]’s decision to recast the role of Victoria for Eclipse,” Lefevre said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. “I was fully committed to the Twilight saga, and to the portrayal of Victoria. I turned down several other film opportunities and, in accordance with my contractual rights, accepted only roles that would involve very short shooting schedules.”

“My commitment to Barney’s Version is only ten days,” she said of the scheduling conflict. “Summit picked up my option for Eclipse. Although the production schedule for Eclipse is over three months long, Summit said they had a conflict during those ten days and would not accommodate me. Given the length of filming for Eclipse, never did I fathom I would lose the role over a 10 day overlap.”

She concluded, “I will be forever grateful to the fan support and loyalty I’ve received since being cast for this role, and I am hurt deeply by Summit’s surprising decision to move on without me. I wish the cast and crew of Eclipse only the very best.”

Lefevre was then replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard.

Chris D’Elia

Following several accusations of sexual misconduct, comedian Chris D’Elia was rightfully fired from the movie he was working on, 2021’s Army of the Dead. Talking about the decision to Vanity Fair, the movie’s director Zack Snyder said the decision to replace D’Elia after most of the shooting was done was “easy” yet “expensive.” In fact, Snyder said digitally removing D’Elia and reshooting with his replacement cost Netflix “a few million.” 

D’Elia was replaced by comedian Tig Notaro. 

Johnny Depp

Much like D’Elia, actor Johnny Depp was also fired due to sexual misconduct accusations. In his case, Depp was let go from the Fantastic Beasts franchise after a judge ruled that he abused ex-wife Amber Heard throughout their relationship, Us Weekly reports. 

“In light of recent events, I would like to make the following short statement. Firstly, I’d like to thank everybody who has gifted me with their support and loyalty,” Depp wrote on Instagram at the time. “Secondly, I wish to let you know that I have been asked to resign by Warner Bros. from my role as Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts and I have respected and agreed to that request.”

“Johnny Depp will depart the Fantastic Beasts franchise,” Warner Bros. said in a statement to the outlet. “We thank Johnny for his work on the films to date. Fantastic Beasts 3 is currently in production, and the role of Gellert Grindelwald will be recast.”

Depp’s role was replaced by actor Mads Mikkelsen.