The Oscar-nominated role Burt Reynolds was too scared to fight for: “Couldn’t bring myself to do it”
(Credits: Far Out / Alan Light)
Mon 29 December 2025 19:45, UK
He may have been one of the most famous movie stars of all time, but Burt Reynolds has become rather infamous for the roles that he turned down. The notoriously prickly actor missed out on some great opportunities to appear in classic movies, but they weren’t all because of a lack of trying.
John McClane in Die Hard, Garrett Breedlove in Terms of Endearment, and even James Bond are just a few of the amazing parts that Burt Reynolds passed on. Although Reynolds was hailed as a dynamic actor who could draw in audiences based solely on his involvement, his aptitude for feuding with co-stars cost him additional opportunities.
Reynolds was at his peak in the 1970s, thanks to the many types of films that he appeared in; Deliverance gave him a more vulnerable and dramatic role, The Longest Yard put him at the centre of a modern sports classic, and Smokey and the Bandit launched his most iconic character and became a franchise. Unfortunately, the bad blood that Reynolds had started with others within the industry meant that his roles began to decline in quality once the ‘80s kicked in.
It would be surprising to learn that Reynolds was interested in a more artful, dramatic role, and even more shocking that it was because of director Peter Weir. The brilliant Australian filmmaker had created the psychological drama The Last Wave, the military drama Gallipoli, and the profound biopic The Year of Living Dangerously, all of which seemed far more grounded and artistic compared to the roles that Reynolds usually took.
Nonetheless, Reynolds admitted in his autobiography But Enough About Me that he had wanted to play the character of Detective John Book in Witness, the first American film of Weir’s career. Reynolds admitted that he couldn’t bring himself to reach out to Weir, who instead ended up casting Harrison Ford, which is ironic considering Reynolds had turned down the opportunity to be Han Solo in the original Star Wars.
Hollywood clearly understood that Weir was a genius, and the notion of his making an American drama was immediately met with heavy anticipation. Although Ford had been on a legendary run of hits thanks to the success of the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, being in Witness earned him some of the best reviews of his entire career. It’s the only film of Ford’s that got him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, even if it could be argued that he was unfairly snubbed for his work in The Fugitive, The Mosquito Coast, and Presumed Innocent.
Witness helped to transition Ford’s career in the mid-1980s, allowing him to start appearing in more “serious” films. It’s easy to imagine that Reynolds sought a similar trajectory, as his ‘80s had been cluttered by a series of forgettable Smokey and the Bandit sequels and other box office disasters like City Heat, in which he teamed up with Clint Eastwood in a buddy cop thriller.
Reynolds essentially became the laughingstock of the industry for a decade before Paul Thomas Anderson revitalised his career with Boogie Nights, in which his performance as Jack Burton earned him the first Oscar nomination of his career.
In fairness, Reynolds did acknowledge that Weir “made a terrific film with Harrison”, and recognised that the project may not have been destined to be his. Although seeing Reynolds in the role may have been interesting, history worked itself out for the better.
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