Photos: Stars who turned down, or were turned down for, ultimately famous roles

The movie: “Twilight� franchise

The role: Bella Swan, a teenager turned vampire with the skill to shield herself and others from mental harm. All the while, she’s madly in love with mind-reading vampire Edward Cullen.

The final pick: Kristen Stewart. Lawrence later landed the role of Katniss Everdeen in the equally popular series “The Hunger Games.�

The movie: “Michael Clayton�

The role: Michael Clayton, an attorney with a conscience, who breaks down the corruption surrounding a chemical scandal.

The final pick: George Clooney. To this day, Washington regrets turning down the role. “With ‘Clayton,’ it was the best material I had read in a long time, but I was nervous about a first-time director, and I was wrong,� Washington said.

The movie: “Forrest Gump�

The role: Forrest Gump, a not-so intelligent former military man set to tell the story of his life.

The final pick: Tom Hanks. Travolta simply turned down the role and later admitted his decision was a mistake. For Hanks, the role earned him an Oscar for best actor in 1994.

The movie: “Clueless�

The role: Cher Horowitz, the wealthy Valley girl up for anything that involves fashion, makeovers and, like, boys.

The final pick: Alicia Silverstone. Gellar couldn’t commit due to scheduling conflicts.

The movie: “Pirates of the Caribbean� franchise

The role: Will Turner, an ace swordsman and budding pirate.

The final pick: Orlando Bloom. Law auditioned for the role to play Keira Knightley’s love interest, but was shoved aside for Bloom.

The movie: Marvel’s “Iron Man 2�

The role: Black Widow, a femme fatale formerly known as a Russian spy.

The final pick: Scarlett Johansson. Blunt passed on the role saying: “Usually the female parts in a superhero film feel thankless: She’s the pill girlfriend while the guys are whizzing around saving the world.�

The movie: “Pretty Woman�

The role: Vivian Ward, an assertive Hollywood Boulevard prostitute who finds love with a wealthy lawyer.

The final pick: Julia Roberts. Hannah rejected the role since she believed it was belittling to women. “They sold it as a romantic fairytale when in fact it’s a story about a prostitute who becomes a lady by being kept by a rich and powerful man,� Hannah said. Hannah, however, later portrayed a stripper in the drama “Dancing at the Blue Iguana.�

The movie: “Spider-Man� franchise

The role: Spider-Man, the web-slinging, wall-crawling figure who has proved to be one of the most commercially successful superheroes.

The final pick: Tobey Maguire. A disappointed Prinze Jr. told late-night radio personality Howard Stern that he was originally cast as Spider-Man, but director Sam Raimi went with Maguire instead.

The movie: “Star Wars�

The role: Han Solo, a sarcastic yet compassionate hero who helps for the common good.

The final pick: Harrison Ford. Al Pacino dismissed the role, saying: “It was mine for the taking but I didn’t understand the script.� Pacino turned down the “Star Wars� series and later starred in the Godfather trilogy, but found it to be “a long, awful, tiring story.�

The movie: “Thelma & Louise�

The role: J.D., the money-stealing, good-looking thief who strikes up a romantic relationship with Thelma (Geena Davis), and ends up educating her on his holdup tactics.

The final pick: Brad Pitt. Clooney read with Davis several times, only to be booted for Pitt. Clooney admitted he didn’t see the movie for years, then decided to rent it one night and realized that Pitt was perfect for the role.

The movie: “Gone With the Wind�

The role: Scarlett O’Hara, a smart and charming woman searching high and low for love.

The final pick: Vivien Leigh. Davis turned down the role under the impression that Errol Flynn would play the part of Rhett Butler. (Clark Gable actually got the role.) Davis had refused to work with Flynn earlier, as their relationship off-screen was rocky. Davis even reportedly once slapped Flynn on the face.