"She said, "If you don’t play Dumbledore, then I will never speak with you again."

An actor's decision to accept a role on the big screen is influenced by many factors. Experienced actors take time to decide if they are ready to accept a role on the big screen. As they weigh their options, other factors might come into play that make the decision a bit more difficult. Some stars have confessed to taking on roles for bizarre and funny reasons, ranging from advice from fortune-tellers to losing bets.

Continue reading to find out why these actors accepted these roles.

1. Matthew McConaughey

Matthew McConaughey, who was contemplating whether he should accept his role as "How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days" in the 2000s, said that he had consulted with a fortune teller. He said that he was walking along Sunset Boulevard one night when a psychic came up to him with a message.

"I was surprised to see a guy come up from nowhere. He was a fortune-teller guru and asked me, 'Can you tell me your fortune quick?' I was like, "Yeah man." Sure.' He instantly responds, "There's a movie that you're thinking about right now." It's a romantic comedy. This is a must-do or you will regret it. It's going to be a fun experience, and it will make a lot of money," Matthew said to Vanity Fair.

He thought that the studio had hired him, but it made him think about the job and he accepted the position the next day.

2. Vin Diesel

Vin Diesel was invited to appear in "The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift" in 2006. Vin made an unusual deal with Universal Pictures at the time. Vin wanted to avoid being paid for his appearance and asked Universal Pictures if they would grant him the rights of Riddick, his "Pitch Black", character. Vin agreed to make the appearance when Universal granted his request.

3. Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis was the guest star on "Friends," but it turned out that he did so as a part of a wager. Matthew Perry explained that Bruce met his friends on "The Whole Nine Yards" and they placed a wager on whether the movie would become a success. Matthew bet that Bruce would appear on "Friends" if the film made it big. Bruce was not so certain. Bruce moved to "Friends" after the film became a success.

"Bruce wasn't sure the film would succeed, and I'd bet he was wrong -- if it lost, he would have to do a spot on 'Friends,’" Matthew wrote in his memoir, "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing."

4. Richard Harris

Richard Harris was an actor who appeared as Dumbledore in two Harry Potter films before his death. He had declined the role several times before he decided to accept it. His granddaughter insisted that he accept the role.

She said to Zap2it, "Papa, I heard you're not going in the Harry Potter movie'. Richard replied, "If you don’t play Dumbledore, then I will never speak with you again."

5. Bill Burr

Bill Burr spent a lot time detesting "Star Wars" in standup, but it was that act that landed him the role of "The Mandalorian." Jon Favreau approached him to discuss the role, explaining that he has always teased Star Wars fans.

Jon was at Mike Binder's party and he said to me, "Hey, we are writing this thing. We had you in our minds. Is it something you would like to do? Jon, I replied, "I don't know Jon." I've teased Star Wars fans a lot. He says, "I know. The podcast is very popular with me. It would be funny if it was you got in it. My wife was kicking my under the table and I was like, 'Allright, I'll make it happen.' Jon stated this on "Your Mom's House".

6. Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone was basically tricked into playing his part in "Stop!" Or My Mom Will Shoot," which Sylvester Stallone later called "one the worst films in all of solar system". Sylvester was at the time feuding with Arnold Schwarzenegger who had initially been offered the film's role. He read the script and was shocked at its poor quality. However, he decided to try and convince Sylvester to sign on. Sylvester accepted the offer to film the film, before he realized how terrible it was.

"So I went into -- this was during the war -- I thought to myself, I'm going leak out that my tremendous interest. I am familiar with Hollywood's business practices. Then I would ask for lots of money. They would then say, "Let's give it to Sly." Perhaps we can get him cheaper. They told Sly that Schwarzenegger was interested. Here are the press clips. He has spoken about it. He's willing to let you take that one from him. He did it! He was totally open to it. It was a week later that I learned about it: 'Sly is signing now for this movie.' "Yes!" I replied during Beyond Fest 2017. Arnold spoke during Beyond Fest 2017.

7. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Kareem Abdul Jabbar, a basketball legend, was offered a job in "Airplane!" He had a very specific request regarding his salary. His agent stated that he required $35,000 to purchase the specialty rug he desired. They agreed to pay the fee because it was less than what the studio had expected.

"When we offered [the role of Murdock] to Kareem Abdel-Jabbar, I believe we offered him $30,000 and then the agent demanded $35,000 because that was the price that Kareem wanted for the rug. It was an oriental rug, and not one that you could walk on. So our first reaction was to say, "That's got to the be the most amazing line we've ever heard" It was like, "Boy, that guy's really inventive!" Then, a few weeks later, Time published a photo of Kareem standing before the oriental rug he bought for $35,000.

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Title: 7 Celebs Who Took Movie Roles For Unusual Reasons
Sourced From: toofab.com/2023/03/18/7-celebs-who-took-movie-roles-for-unusual-reasons/
Published Date: Sat, 18 Mar 2023 13:00:48 +0000

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