Movie roles that might have been

There's a fun article running on an Australian news site that lists some of the casting shifts that have happened behind the scenes of some of our favorite Hollywood movies.

Did you know that Sean Connery passed on the role of Gandalf the wizard (which of course went to gay actor Ian McKellen) in The Lord of the Rings due to the long, remote shoot and the fact that he "could not understand the novels"? Or that the role of gay uncle Frank in Little MIss Sunshine (perfectly realized by Steve Carell) was turned down by Bill Murray, who considers it one of his few regrettable career choices?

Now, I love Bill Murray and all, but that would have sucked -- if only because we might never have seen how friggin' hot Steve Carell looks in a beard. A non-Noah-type beard, that is.

The list is pretty fun, overall. I mean, really -- can you see Nick Nolte as Indiana Jones? Or Ashley Judd on Home Improvement ... as the Tool Time girl?