Even Hollywood’s best aren’t immune to being fired from a movie or TV show.
Sometimes, the studio’s hands are tied, and it has to address controversy from the actor. Other times, it’s just not a good fit, such as Eric Stolz in Back to the Future.
With that in mind, let’s go over some notable examples of stars who were let go from their movie or television roles.
Kevin Spacey – House of Cards
After allegations of Spacey’s abuse came to light, Netflix was forced to take action.
They killed off Frank Underwood, Kevin Spacey’s character on House of Cards, and finished the show without him.
Kevin Spacey – All The Money In The World
House of Cards wasn’t the only production Spacey was kicked out of following the revelations of his misconduct.
While it was easy to write Spacey off of the hit Netflix show, there was a bigger issue with the Ridley Scott film All The Money In The World: he had already finished filming his part.
He would eventually be replaced by Christopher Plummer after nine days of reshoots.
Charlie Sheen – Two and a Half Men
Sheen’s very public flameout in 2011 resulted in him being fired from the hit Chuck Lorre show.
He made unflattering comments concerning Lorre and displayed incredibly erratic behavior. He was replaced by Ashton Kutcher.
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TJ Miller – Silicon Valley, Deadpool
Speaking of flameouts, TJ Miller was a rising star following the success of the Deadpool movie and HBO’s comedy Silicon Valley.
However, his erratic behavior and misconduct allegations resulted in 20th Century Fox and HBO cutting ties with the comedian.
Roseanne Barr – Roseanne
When Rosanne was brought back for a revival and 10th season in 2017, the entire cast returned. Yes, even John Goodman, whose death from the awful series finale was retconned.
However, despite the show being renewed for an 11th season, Barr made incredibly inappropriate and racist comments online, leading to the show’s cancellation. The rest of the cast would move on without her in The Conners, which ran for seven seasons.
Edward Norton – The Avengers
Norton starred as Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the 2008 Marvel film The Incredible Hulk. However, that was the only time he appeared as the character in the MCU, and he was replaced by Mark Ruffalo starting with 2012’s The Avengers.
There’s a good reason why: in addition to The Incredible Hulk being a flop after the success of Iron Man, Norton was reportedly difficult to work with. Kevin Feige said their “decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members.”
Terrence Howard – Iron Man 2
Norton wasn’t the only member of the original Marvel cast to get replaced.
Terrence Howard originally played James “Rhodey” Rhodes in the original film. When it was time for the sequel, though, he was replaced by Don Cheadle. The reason? You guessed it: a salary dispute.
Jeff Garlin – The Goldbergs
I love Garlin’s performance alongside Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm, but his behavior on the set of The Goldbergs was disappointing.
In 2021, Vanity Fair published an article concerning allegations of Garlin engaging in inappropriate conduct on set, which led to his dismissal from the show.
Suzanne Somers – Three’s Company
Sommers played Chrissy Snow for five seasons on the hit ABC sitcom.
Come the fifth season, Sommers demanded a raise, looking to make as much as co-star John Ritter: $150,000 an episode, compared to the $30,000 she was making. Her contract would not be renewed, and Somers would be replaced by Jenillee Harrison.
Megan Fox – Transformers
Fox was one of the faces of the original Transformers movies alongside co-star Shia LaBeouf.
That all came to an end after a 2009 interview where she compared Michael Bay to Hitler.
Sylvester Stallone – Beverly Hills Cop
The role of Axel Foley in Beverly Hills Cop is one of Eddie Murphy’s most iconic performances, but it wasn’t his to begin with.
Stallone was initially cast as the character, but he was fired after trying to rewrite the script. The studio wasn’t a fan of this, so instead of working with Stallone, they fired him.
Ryan Gosling – The Lovely Bones
Ryan Gosling prepared for his role as Jack Salmon in an unorthodox way: by gaining 60 pounds. He felt that he needed to gain weight and grow a beard for the role.
However, director Peter Jackson disagreed with that, and instead of working together, they went their separate ways. Jack was eventually played by Mark Wahlberg. I’d say it worked out just fine for Gosling, though.
Jean Claude van Damme – Predator
Van Damme was originally cast as the Predator alongside the ensemble cast for the 1987 action movie. He’d be at home alongside Arnold, Jesse Ventura, Carl Weathers, and the rest of the cast.
However, van Damme was never in the movie and was replaced by Kevin Peter Hall. There are several rumors as to why this was. Some say van Damme’s shorter stature compared to the cast made the Predator look weak. Others claim that van Damme hated wearing the suit.
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