Disappearing Acts: 15 Big Screen Characters Who Didn’t Make Final Cut

After beating out throngs of big name actors for the part and filming for four...

Katherine Towne: “Sweet Home Alabama”

The daughter of “Chinatown” scribe Robert Towne probably knew the Hollywood maxim that a film gets written three times: first on the page, then on the set and finally in the editing room — Katherine probably just assumed that her role as Erin, the personal assistant to Reese Witherspoon’s fashion designer, would make it after the second draft. Unfortunately, test screening audiences were troubled by her crush on Witherspoon’s fiancé, played by Patrick Dempsey, and director Andy Tennant 86′ed the character without hesitation, though not completely without regret. As Tennant cops to on the DVD, Erin provided a happy ending to the film and a punchline when Dempsey’s onscreen mother discovers that her jilted son’s ex-fiancé’s personal assistant is a Vanderbilt.

Ronee Blakely: “Hammett”

Actors marry their directors all the time, but Blakely is a cautionary tale for any thespian who wants to untie the knot too soon. After close to 90 percent of the revisionist detective tale “Hammett” was in the can, the “Nashville” star filed for divorce from director Wim Wenders, a fact that, when coupled with studio dissatisfaction with the movie in general, prompted Wenders to change up the role and cast Marilu Henner instead as the detective’s confidante.

Harold Ramis: “High Fidelity”

Seth Rogen may have been a handful in “Knocked Up,” but Ramis perfected his fatherly advice as the sweatsuit-clad old man to John Cusack’s introspective record clerk in the 2000 adaptation of Nick Hornby’s novel. In an exchange between the two Chicago natives, Cusack’s Rob asks for advice about sex from his dad, who bluntly explains how his experience is limited to one woman and to “just go out and do it.” The scene didn’t make the final cut, nor did a cameo by Beverly D’Angelo as an angry wife who is eager to sell her husband’s record collection, but both can be found in the deleted scenes on the film’s DVD. And thanks to Ramis’ quality time with Cusack on the set, the two worked together again with Ramis as director on the 2006 crime caper “The Ice Harvest.”

Harrison Ford: “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial”

Since Ford’s pal Steven Spielberg was directing the alien tale from a script by Melissa Mathison, Ford’s wife at the time, it only made sense that the actor would show his face during the production. Actually, it was only his back, which was turned to the camera, for his cameo as the principal at Elliot’s school who gives a stern talk to the boy. Spielberg ultimately decided to scrap the scene in favor of an ending that didn’t leave audiences wondering whether or not Indiana Jones had taken an acting gig in between “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Temple of Doom,” but through the magic of the internet, you can watch the scene on YouTube.

Pages: 1 2 3