There are numerous stories throughout the history of Hollywood of famous roles that were almost played by somebody else. Will Smith himself has admitted to turning down several major roles in his career. However, it turns out that the most important role in Smith's career only came along after somebody else turned it down, because Ethan Hawke almost starred in Independence Day.
Hawke has actually told the story multiple times. It seems that all these years later, he still hasn't forgotten turning down such a huge movie.
Why Ethan Hawke Turned Down Independence Day
The story goes that following one of Ethan Hawke's best movies, 1994's Reality Bites , he was in very high demand as an actor, leading to lots of offers. One of those was the lead role in Independence Day. He admits he thought the script was absolutely ridiculous. Speaking to Larry King in 2015, Hawke said…
The stupidest one I ever turned down was Independence Day. They offered me Will Smith’s part. I thought the movie was totally dopey. I remember reading the script, making fun of some of the lines to my friends. Look at this terrible line. ‘E.T. phone home’ what a stupid line.
Hawke later told Conan O’Brien that he literally threw the script out the window while on a road trip in Texas. That’s how much he didn’t see what was going on with the film.
Hawke Went To See Independence Day Opening Weekend And Realized His Mistake
Following Ethan Hawke turning the movie down, Will Smith would join the Independence Day cast, this being his first major movie role following his TV success with the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Ethan Hawke then explained to Conan O’Brien what happened when he and some friends went to see Independence Day. It was then, watching the audience's reaction to the film, that he realized what a mistake he had made. He said…
The next summer… it’s 4th of July and everybody wants to go to the movies. Let’s go see Independence Day. And I’m like, this’ll be amusing to go see how bad this is. I walk into the theater, obviously, it’s completely sold out. You cannot get in. Will Smith says, you know ‘E.T. Phone Home,’ boom, and the place roars. They basically get a standing ovation in the middle of the movie and I’m sitting there going, ‘Oh my god.’
Independence Day would be a career-making role for Will Smith, leading to other major blockbuster films, including Men in Black the next summer. Certainly if Ethan Hawke had taken the role, it’s possible he would have become the darling of blockbuster cinema. However, Hawke told Larry King that ultimately he doesn’t regret turning down the role because it was clear to him that Will Smith was the right person for it all along. He said…
It didn’t make me regret it. It made me realize he was meant to play that part.
Will Smith has his own iconic role that he turned down. After becoming a darling of sci-fi cinema, Smith himself was inundated with offers. He famously turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix, which he now regrets.
Today it’s a little hard to imagine Ethan Hawke in Independence Day, but I guess that’s exactly what Hawke means by saying Smith was the right one for that role. Ethan Hawke’s career hasn’t included quite as many blockbusters, though Hawke did join the MCU before Will Smith. he’s never appeared to have a hard time finding work. It looks like everything has worked out pretty well for both actors.
