Here Is A List Of Actors Who Actually Dropped Out Of Television Roles Themselves

We always imagine actors taking a role and running with it, but what if they don't?

Daphnie

• Published in Film & TV
• July 22, 2022

Actors typically take roles based on how they feel about the plot, script, role they are playing, and overall success rate of the movie. Sometimes, for whatever reason, some actors don't end up sticking with the role or decide not to take the role.

This is something that we obviously don't see because that's behind the scenes and sometimes before the movie starts being filmed. That's why we wanted to shed a little bit of light on these instances where actors didn't take roles or when they quit roles.

Some of these actors made other commitments and therefore had to back out of a role, some actors got a better offer and took the better deal, and some actors simply decided that it wasn't the situation for them to be in. No matter the circumstance, we stand with actors that left roles because it shows that they stand up for what they want for themselves.

If you love movies, television shows, and learning about actors such as Ruby Rose, Farah Fawcett, and Laura Graham then you're in for a treat. We're going to show you a list of actors who dropped out or declined roles and also explain what roles they were and why.

1. Ruby Rose

Ruby Rose moved on from her role as Batwoman. Ruby claimed that they worked in terrible working conditions.

Here's what Ruby had to say about it, "I ended up talking to Warner Brothers and Greg [about] where the show was going. And we...had a really honest, good chat where we sort of mutually agreed that...we had done what we set out to do."

2. Regé-Jean Page

Regé-Jean Page claims that he knew his role in Bridgeton was going to be short-lived. "I get to come in, I get to contribute my bit and then the Bridgerton family rolls on," he says.

3. Alex Borstein

Alex had to give up her Gilmore Girls role in order to fulfill previous commitments of starring in Mad TV.

4. Farrah Fawcett

Farrah left Charlie's Angels after its first season due to her wanting to film movies with Lee Majors. Here's what Jaclyn Smith had to say about Farrah's departure from Gilmore Girls,  “I think Farrah had a lot of people in her ear. She was married to Lee Majors.

He wanted her home cooking and being a wife. That didn’t work, so it ended pretty quickly.” 

5. Ross Butler

Ross Butler has been sen in Riverdale and played a significant role, but had to choose between his role in Riverdale or his role in 13 Reasons Why.

Here's what Ross had to say about his choice, "Reggie’s a great character, but it’s a different tone. I connected with Zach on a much more real level where I didn’t have to create so much of a character for him,"

6. Maura Tierney

Maura had to remove herself from playing Sarah Braverman in Parenthood due to medical conditions. Her medical outcome was said to have been positive.

Maura said this about her decision to leave, “She is deeply disappointed that she will not be able to rejoin such a highly respected, talented, fun and funny group of actors and wishes to thank Jason Katims and NBC for their patience and support.”

7. David Caruso

David Caruso played in NYPD Blue, but dropped out of the role after the first season in order to play in movies rather than television shows. People said that he thought he was 'too good for television'.

One spokesperson said this,  "He wanted to be a movie star. And his plan was to alienate the writers, producers, and his fellow castmates in hopes that we would dump him from the show."

8. Jane Levy

Jane Levy left Shameless to pursue a much-wanted role as Tessa Altman in Suburgatory. Here's what Jane had to say about scoring the role of Tessa, "But Suburgatory was the first one I went out for and it was exciting ... I was told by everyone to keep my expectations low, so I did.

But when I found out it was actually going to happen, I went crazy."

9. Brian Dunkleman

Brian quit hosting Americal Idol after season 1 because he wanted to pursue his dream of acting. Brian said, "I wanted to have an acting career, and I knew that leaving when I did would give me the best shot of accomplishing that."

He also stated that he later understood what leaving meant, but wouldn't have changed his decision. He later found out that Americal Idol was going to let him go after season 1 anyways, which is both sad, but convenient.

10. Lauren Graham

Lauren Graham played Joan in the first season of Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist but later had to leave the role due to conflicting schedules with Lauren's other role in The Mighty Ducks: Game Changer.

Here's what the creator of the show had to say about Lauren leaving,  “Unfortunately, the character of Joan was a victim of covid scheduling. Lauren had committed to doing another show that was supposed to be done shooting by the time we went into production.

But the pandemic changed all of that and both shows ended up shooting at the same time. So, there was just no way for her to do both ... I feel very fortunate that we were able to get her at all.”

11. Damon Wayans Jr

Damon starred in the pilot of New Girl as Coach but later had to drop out due to agreements made for him to play Brad in Happy Endings. He eventually came back to New Girl after Happy Endings was cancelled and also popped in and out throughout the rest of the seasons of New Girl.

12. Xochitl Gomez

Xochitl Gomez chose to leave her role in The Babysitters Club when she landed a lead role in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

13. Gavin Leatherwood

Gavin made an appearance in season 1 of The Sex Lives of College Girls due to his desire to explore other opportunities. He later said,  “But with so many amazing opportunities out there, we want to keep spreading our wings and leading ourselves to other projects, so that’s the move.”

14. Sherilyn Fenn

Sherilyn left her role playing Harley Quinn in Birds Of Prey series that was filmed in the early 2000s. She couldn't recall why she left the role, but she said that it ultimately probably had something to do with finances.

15. Aml Ameen

Aml played in season 1 of Sense8, but later removed himself due to "creative differences" that he had with co-creator Laura Wachowski.

16. Jennifer Ehle

Jennifer was the first choice to play Catelyn in Game of Thrones but decided to leave her role in order to raise her young child. Here's what Jennifer aid about leaving her role, "My daughter was seven months old when we did the pilot.

It was too soon for me to be working, emotionally and bonding-wise, but I needed to do it and I was also passionate about the books."

17. Lori Rom

Lori Rom was the original Pheobe in Charmed, but eventually had to leave her role due to 'personal reasons."

18. Jeffrey Hunter

Jeffrey Hunter played Captain Pike in the first pilot of Star Trek, but he was no longer seen once he rejected the opportunity to keep the role.

It's pretty awesome and fascinating to hear stories of why actors didn't accept or keep certain roles and the reasoning behind those decisions. I love hearing behind-the-scenes types of facts that we don't always get to hear about or see.

I wouldn't have imagined that some of these shows were meant to star other actors, but ended up with the ones we saw when watching.

Daphnie