Six Famous Actors and the Big TV Roles They Turned Down

1. Dana Delany as Carrie Bradshaw
Sex and the City creator Darren Star first offered the role of Carrie Bradshaw to his friend Dana Delany. Delany had previously won two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of the compassionate nurse Colleen McMurphy on China Beach, but she was still smarting from the negative reviews she’d gotten for playing a dominatrix in the 1994 film Exit to Eden. She told Star that the public would never forgive her if she talked about sex onscreen again, so the part went to Sarah Jessica Parker.

2. Michael Richards as Adrian Monk
As Seinfeld was winding down its nine-year run in 1998, the major networks were salivating to sign the show’s stars to new projects. ABC pictured Michael Richards as a bumbling Inspector Clouseau-type detective and pitched a premise purchased from Disney Studios about a cop suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. Richards, however, disliked the pilot script; he felt that the character of Adrian Monk didn’t offer enough comedic possibilities for him to work with, so he passed on the project. When Richards refused the role, ABC lost interest in the project and eventually sold the rights to USA Network. Monk went on to become USA’s highest-rated show, and Tony Shalhoub won three Emmy Awards for his portrayal of the title character.

3. Paul Shaffer as George Costanza
According to Paul Shaffer’s memoir, We’ll Be Here for the Rest of Our Lives, Jerry Seinfeld personally left a message stating that the role of George Costanza on his upcoming pilot was Shaffer’s if he wanted it. But Shaffer was preoccupied with his other work and said he never got around to returning Seinfeld’s call.

4. Jayne Mansfield as Ginger Grant
The blonde bombshell (and mother of Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay) nixed the role of sexy Ginger Grant on Gilligan’s Island, stating, “I am a movie star.”

5. Paul Giamatti as Michael Scott
As Bill Carter reported in the New York Times back in 2006, NBC executives had a strong favorite for the role of Michael Scott on the American adaptation of The Office — Paul Giamatti. He wasn’t interested, and the network eventually offered the role to Steve Carell.

6. Polly Bond as Miss Kitty
Of the many reasons actors give for turning down a role, “they offered too much money” is probably not in the top ten. Or even the top 1,000. But that was the reasoning behind Polly Bond’s decision to refuse the part of Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke.

The former Polly Ellis had recently married Tommy Bond, a former child actor most famous for playing “Butch” on The Little Rascals. Tommy was working on the production side of a local TV station at the time, and the Gunsmoke salary would’ve put Polly in a situation where she was out-earning her husband, which she felt would strain their fledgling marriage.

Amanda Blake went on to play Miss Kitty for an amazing 20 seasons, and Polly and Tommy Bond remained happily wedded for an amazing 52 years.