Not all performances of actors make the final cut of a film. At times, roles of the most talented artists end up being edited owing to creative reasons or the need to bring down a film's runtime. From veterans such as Kevin Costner to rising stars as Ana de Armas, many actors have been through the disappointment of seeing their roles cut. The article discusses 17 actors whose performances were edited from major films.
1. Kevin Costner – The Big Chill
Kevin Costner played the role of Alex, a friend whose death by suicide brings the key characters of The Big Chill (1983) together. Costner filmed scenes in flashbacks as Alex. However, the sequences featuring the actor were chopped during post-production, with only a few glimpses retained of Alex's dead body. The film's director Lawrence Kasdan admitted the flashbacks were a problem because they changed the tone of the film, a comedy drama. Although Costner's scenes were cut, his professionalism earned him Kasdan's trust and the actor would go on to star in the filmmaker's next release, SIlverado (1985). He would later joke about The Big Chill experience, calling it his "biggest paycheck for doing nothing."
2. Jena Malone – Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Jena Malone was supposed to appear in a key role in Zack Snyder's Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016), the rumor among fans being she was set to play Barbara Gordon, who would eventually be Batgirl. However, her scenes were entirely deleted from the theatrical cut. In the Ultimate Edition, a director's cut of the film, it is revealed that Malone's character is Jenet Klyburn, a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist. Snyder defended the removal citing runtime constraints. However, fans were disappointed when her role was omitted from cinemas.
3. Jared Leto – Suicide Squad
Jared Leto's Joker in Suicide Squad (2016) had been hyped before the film's release, yet mostly missing in the final cut. While extensive scenes were filmed, Leto's Joker had only around 10 minutes of screentime. The actor went public with his disappointment, revealing the deleted scenes explored more of Joker's twisted relationship with Harley Quinn. Later, the film's director David Ayer confirmed that a lot of Joker's scenes were cut in order to focus on the main story. Fans are clamoring for an "Ayer Cut" hoping to see Leto 's full performance. The cut remains one of the most contentious topics for DCEU fans.
4. Viggo Mortensen – The Purple Rose of Cairo
Before he rose to fame, Viggo Mortensen was hired as an extra in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985). In the film, he was to portray a young cinema-goer, who appears alongside lead actress Dianne Wiest. Unfortunately for Viggo, the scenes had already been cut by Allen because the director wanted to shrink the storyline. Mortensen has talked about how his family went to watch the film only to discover his scenes had been edited. Although he was disappointed then, the actor would go on to have a successful career in Hollywood and cement his stature with roles in films such as Eastern Promises, A History of Violence, Green Book, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
5. A Whole Bunch of People – The Thin Red Line
Bill Pullman, Mickey Rourke, Gary Oldman and Martin Sheen are among a bunch of stars who ended up with a total screen time of zero after one of Hollywood's most infamous episodes of cuts, in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line (1998), where the director chopped entire portions of their contributions. Adrien Brody, cast as a front-runner, was given just about a dozen lines while George Clooney, a top star at the time, was left with barely a minute's appearance in the film after cuts. The focus of the filmmaker seemed more on visuals and the cinematic atmosphere than on characters. Although the final product received critical acclaim, most of the actors were surprised by their exclusion, noting Malick's unusual approach to filmmaking.
6. Rachel Weisz – To the Wonder
Rachel Weisz came aboard Terrence Malick's To the Wonder (2012) with a lot of hope, but she was surprised to discover her scenes had been chopped without notice. She had a relatively small role but Malick's editing trimmed a lot of the story, retaining most of the parts featuring Olga Kurylenko and Ben Affleck. Weisz has since joked that being cut is a rite of passage when it comes to working with Malick, whose films are known for some of the most drastic post-production cuts in Hollywood.
7. Robert Pattinson – Vanity Fair
Robert Pattinson was cast as the son of Reese Witherspoon's protagonist in Mira Nair's Vanity Fair (2004). However, his scenes were completely left out of the theatrical run of the film, owing to runtime considerations. Pattinson reportedly later joked about how he had come to know about the development only when he didn't receive an invitation for the film. Although that was a disappointment, he would go on to become a global star with the Twilight film series, and also star in films such as The Lighthouse (2019) and The Batman (2022).
8. Ellen Pompeo – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Grey's Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo was cast as Naomi, Joel's ex-girlfriend, in the 2004 film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Her scenes would've added a dimension to Joel's past relationship history. However, director Michel Gondry had to cut off her footage, because he flet that it would make the story a bit too elaborate. It's an interesting "what if" element in the already complex storyline of the film. Even though she was disappointed at that moment, Pompeo's career would flourish, mainly owing to her role of Meredith Grey in Grey's Anatomy.
9. Jack Nicholson – On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
Jack Nicholson was cast as Tad Pringle in Vincente Minnelli's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970). Pringle is romantically connected with Barbra Streisand's protagonist. However, his scenes were cut to maintain the focus on Streisand. Although the part did not feature in the final cut that arrived in cinemas, it was only a matter of time that Nicholson would go on to earn critical attention and popularity with starring roles in films such as Easy Rider (1969), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and As Good as It Gets (1997).
10. Jon Lovitz – A League of Their Own
Jon Lovitz was cast as Ernie Capadino, a snarky baseball scout in A League of Their Own (1992). Although he was brilliant in the role, a chunk of his scenes were cut during editing. Director Penny Marshall reduced the screen time of Jon Lovitz to focus more on the core plot centered on the Rockford Peaches. Lovitz laughed at his diminished part, and said his character should "have his own movie." Regardless of the deletion, the scenes demonstrate his comedic prowess, and Lovitz proved he could flourish in a long line of memorable supporting characters.
11. Christopher Lee – The Return of the King
Christopher Lee's performance as Saruman in The Lord of The Rings trilogy was iconic, even though fans were outraged when his climactic scene in The Return of the King (2003) was cut from the original theatrical release. Director Peter Jackson has said that the death sequence of Saruman slowed the film down, but Lee was devastated, and termed it a "betrayal." The scene was restored in the extended edition. It shows Saruman's confrontation with Gandalf and his subsequent fall from Orthanc. Lee's towering presence is an integral part of the trilogy, and fans continue to treasure his scenes in the film's extended edition.
12. Matthew Fox – World War Z
Matthew Fox had a much larger part in World War Z (2013), as a Navy SEAL who assists Brad Pitt's protagonist. However, after rewrites and reshoots, Fox role ended up being almost completely edited out of the film. He is shown briefly, and as an unnamed character in the evacuation scene. A number of subplots had to be cut owing to the troubled production of this film. Fox stayed out of acting for years following World War Z, but returned with a starring role in the 2022 limited series, Last Light.
13. Maggie Cheung – Inglourious Basterds
One of Asia's biggest stars, Maggie Cheung was cast as Madame Mimeux in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds (2009). In the film, her character actually owns the French cinema where the entire climax unfolds. However, her scenes were ultimately cut from the film to simplify the storytelling and completely focus on Mélanie Laurent's Shosanna. This decision left fans of Cheung unhappy because the role could have brought her back in the global limelight after her appearances in Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love (2000) and Zhang Yimou's Hero (2002).
14. Andy Garcia – Dangerous Minds
Andy Garcia was to initially play the boyfriend of Michelle Pfeiffer's character Louanne Johnson's in Dangerous Minds (1995). However, his scenes were all edited because the makers wanted to avoid emphasizing unnecessary teacher-student relationships within that story. The drama movie directed by John N. Smith became a box-office smash upon release. Smith wanted to keep the focus of Louanne's character as a teacher centered on the work she does with her students. Garcia, meanwhile, would go on to star in several iconic films such as The Godfather Part III and Ocean's Eleven, in roles that showcased his versatility.
15. Jessica Chastain – The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
Jessica Chastain was cast as a vicious gossip journalist in Xavier Dolan's The Death and Life of John F. Donovan (2018). She was highly promoted in early trailers but entirely removed from the film in post-production. According to Dolan, cutting the sub plot involving Chastain's character helped him maker the story taut and kept the focus on the emotional center of the film. The movie receibed mixed reviews upon release, and being edited from the project did not affect Chastain's prolific career, which is still on the rise with great performances in movies such as Zero Dark Thirty (2012) and The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021).
16. Ana de Armas – Yesterday
Ana de Armas was cast as Roxanne, a love interest in Danny Boyle's Yesterday (2019), and featured in the promotional trailers, too. However, her scenes were cut from the film because test audiences did not like the sub plot. It detracted from central romance between Himesh Patel and Lily James, they complained. In 2023, the film was in a legal tangle when some viewers sued the production studio for "false advertising". They claimed that Ana de Armas appearing in the trailers suggested there was more of her in the film. Despite her absense from Boyle's film, the actress shot to stardom with notable performances in Knives Out (2019) and Blonde (2022).
17. Tobey Maguire – Life of Pi
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Tobey Maguire had been originally cast as the writer in Ang Lee's Life of Pi (2012), but the director changed his mind after the first cut. Lee felt Maguire's stardom was overshadowing the cinematic texture of the film, and opted to replace the actor with the relatively unknown Rafe Spall. Rather than Maguire protesting, Maguire lauded Lee for his vision. The film went on to become a hit and win four Academy Awards. Maguire, on the other hand, kept himself away from the limelight for a while and returned as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) to great applause.
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