7) Josh Hartnett
Another actor who shunned Superman in favour of lesser-known roles was Josh Hartnett. Around the turn of the millennium, Hartnett was the latest teen heartthrob who looked set for big things – superhero movies, in particular. As well as being considered for Batman and Spider-Man, he was a prospective Supes, too. On two occasions, no less.
First, Wolfgang Peterson offered the part to Hartnett for his abandoned Batman vs. Superman movie. Once Warner Bros. decided a multi-superhero movie wasn’t for them (ha!), Brett Ratner asked him again for his Superman: Flyby project. Both times, however, the actor turned it down.
6) Ashton Kutcher
After Hartnett turned them down, Ratner and Warner Bros. needed to find a new leading man for Superman: Flyby. They decided on – yet another bizarre choice – That 70s Show star Ashton Kutcher.
Kutcher even screen tested in the Superman costume (as well as Clark Kent’s suit), opposite Felicity’s Keri Russell reading as Lois Lane. It seemed that the production team were happy to go ahead with him in the part, but the actor himself turned it down.
“It did not feel right. I hadn’t worked out or done anything right. … I was like a rail with fake muscles. It looked funny,” Kutcher explained. “I don’t think I could be a superhero who was in tights. I could play He-Man.”
Uh, keep holding on to that dream, Ashton.
