24 Celebrities Fired on Set, From Ryan Gosling to Megan Fox

Gosling was offered a part as the father in The Lovely Bones, but was dismissed from the role when director Peter Jackson saw that Gosling had gained 60 pounds to prep for the part. Apparently the actor and director had very different visions on what the character should look like, and Mark Wahlberg got the part instead.

Actress Morton actually recorded all of the necessary voice over work for Spike Jonze’s 2013 film Her, but her voice was replaced by Scarlett Johansson’s after the director decided that Morton’s just wasn’t working.

Washington and his co-star, T.R. Knight, got into a heated fight on the set of their ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy. Washington allegedly called Knight, who is gay, a “faggot,” which prompted the show to fire Washington. He recently reprised his role on the series in a one-episode guest spot, and Knight has since left the series for other reasons.

The Scandal actor was fired from the series after allegations of domestic violence. His character, Harrison, was killed off in the Season 3 finale.

The notoriously troubled actress was fired from the 2010 movie The Other Side, reportedly due to the fact that producers did not think she was “bankable.”

This one is a little confusing. Bale was offered the role of Patrick Bateman in Mary Harron’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ controversial novel American Psycho, who accepted the part. Then, distributors decided to go for a bigger name, and offered the part to Leonardo DiCaprio, and, when DiCaprio didn’t accept, Ewan McGregor. When McGregor passed, the role went back to Bale.

Fox was fired from the Transformers franchise in 2009 after she made some harsh comments about director Michael Bay in an interview, likening his work style to that of Hitler’s. Ouch.

Sheen was fired from the set of his CBS sitcom Two and a Half Men after starting a feud with creator Chuck Lorre in 2011. He was replaced by Ashton Kutcher and still can’t stop insulting the creator or the series.

Doherty played the sweet Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210, but offscreen she was an alleged nightmare. She was fired during the fourth season due to bad behavior.

Doherty also happened to be fired from the series she did directly after Beverly Hills, 90210. Doherty allegedly clashed with her co-star Alyssa Milano on the set of WB series Charmed, which prompted her character to be killed off during the third season.

Remini was fired from talk show The Talk in 2012 due to co-host Sharon Osbourne’s influence on the producers — at least, according to Remini. Osbourne fired back on Twitter saying that she had nothing to do with Remini leaving the show.

Stoltz was the original choice for Marty McFly in Back To The Future, and even filmed several scenes in character. He was replaced by Michael J. Fox, who the producers felt was better equipped to handle the comedy.

Keitel was supposed to play Captain Benjamin J. Willard in Apocalypse Now, but Francis Ford Coppola decided to replace him after several weeks of shooting. Coppola allegedly believed that Keitel wasn’t working due to the more passive nature of the role, and Martin Sheen took over the role instead.

The Following star was fired from his role as V in the film V for Vendetta, allegedly because producers didn’t feel he was “dynamic” enough in the role. The part went to Hugo Weaving instead.

Townsend was fired from his role as Aragorn in the Lord of the Rings the day before filming was set to begin, allegedly due to “director/actor chemistry.” Whatever that means.

Bonet played Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show until Denise went off to college and Bonet was given her own spinoff series A Different World. When the then-married Bonet became pregnant, the network decided to cut her from the show, sending Denise off to “Africa.”

The Wizard of Oz actress was fired from the set of the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls, allegedly due to troubles with alcohol. A character in the novel upon which the film was based was rumored to have been inspired by Garland herself.

Image: Warner Bros.

Technically, this actress wasn’t “fired” — but she might as well have been. The Les Miserables star wasn’t comfortable with a graphic full-frontal birthing scene in Knocked Up and quit the picture when the producers wouldn’t change the scene.

Downey Jr. has a troubled history with substance abuse, and it cost him his job on Ally McBeal. The actor was fired from the show in 2001 after he was arrested for suspicion of being under the influence of drugs.

The Three’s Company star pulled a major celebrity move during the fifth season of her show when she demanded a 500% increase in salary. The producers were angry at the power play, and drastically decreased Somers screen time before cutting her out of the show completely.

Original CSI actor Dourdan had his character killed off the show in 2008 following contract negotiations gone sour — and an arrest for drug possession.

Gere was allegedly fired from street gang film Lords of Flatbush when he clashed with co-star Sylvester Stallone.

Cusick starred in the first season of Scandal as womanizing lawyer Stephen, but when the series picked back up for a second season, Stephen was MIA. According to Cusick, the decision for him to leave the ABC drama was a “mutual one” between him and showrunner Shonda Rhimes.