Actors Who Almost Played Superheroes & Villains On TV Shows And Movies

#1 Frank Sinatra As The Joker

There have been many rumors of cast switches for the original Batman TV series, including who was asked to play certain parts and who said after the show became a cult classic that they had wanted a part. For example, many people were set to play the villains, including Frank Sinatra. Yes, Ol' Blue Eyes could have been Ol' Green Hair. Burt Ward himself confirmed this rumor years later. "From what I understand, Frank Sinatra was very upset because he couldn't play the Joker," Ward said in an interview. "Cesar Romero had already been signed."

#2 Arnold Schwarzenegger As The Incredible Hulk

He read the script and wanted the part. He was set to sign on the dotted line, but after producers asked him in for a screen test, they opted not to choose the former CA governor. Believe it or not, Arnie was not big enough. Well, heightwise, in the producer's eyes. Lou Ferrigno, who stands at 6' 5", beat out the Austrian bodybuilder for the Hulk, as Schwartzenegger only measured to 6' 2". It's hard to image he stayed green with envy for long, as he became Conan and the Terminator.

#3 Mickey Rooney As The Penguin

He had played hundreds of different roles, from comedy to musicals. The producers liked his height and body type and the idea that he could do comedy if needed. Rooney was the first actor to be offered the role of the Penguin but turned it down. Burgess Meredith would be hard to top, however.

#4 Lyle Waggoner As Batman

Two screen tests were filmed to decide on the casting of Batman and Robin in the classic 1966 TV series. One, obviously, featured Adam West and Burt Ward. The other starred Lyle Waggoner and Peter R.J. Deyell, as you can see in the image. While Waggoner would ultimately lose the role to West, he would end up as another prominent DC Comics hero, playing Steve Trevor on Wonder Woman some years later. In the meantime, he was a regular on The Carol Burnet Show.

#5 Angelina Bowie As Wonder Woman

Angie Bowie, the model who married David Bowie and mother to Warcraft director Duncan Jones, was itching to play a comic book character in the 1970s. She shot test photos as Black Widow for a proposed Daredevil show. She also slipped into a Wonder Woman suit to audition for a TV movie gig that eventually went to Cathy Lee Crosby. A 1974 issue of Newsweek reported that Bowie lost the role for refusing to wear a bra. Cathy Lee Crosby didn't get the series role either, though she was considered, we all know that went to Lynda Carter.

#6 Richard Kiel As The Incredible Hulk

Yes, besides Arnold Schwarzenegger, another giant was considered to play The Hulk. The man best known as the formidable Jaws in James Bond movies did technically appear as the green monster on The Incredible Hulk. Filming of the pilot began with Kiel before producers decided the giant actor was too skinny for the role. However, one shot of him in Hulk makeup remains in the pilot.

#7 Spencer Tracy As The Penguin

Producers courted many big names for the cast of TV's Batman. The screen legend was offered the role of the Penguin, though he never seemed to take it quite seriously. He would only do it if he could kill Batman. "...I got a letter from William Dozier, saying perhaps I had some grandchildren who would be thrilled to have me do a cameo in Batman," he recalled. "My reply cited what Maggie Sullavan said when she was offered an Andy Hardy family picture. She said, 'I'll do it when it is titled 'Death Comes to Andy Hardy.' I'll do a Batman when it's called 'Death Comes to Batman.'"

#8 Jose Ferrar As The Joker

Another Academy Award winner was offered a Batman gig. The Puerto Rican actor was second choice for the role and was set to join the cast until.. he lost out to Cesar Romero, who even refused to shave his mustache. He was one of over 10 actors who are said to have been considered for the role before they settled on Romero. His son, Miguel Ferrer, would go on to voice a handful of DC Comics characters in cartoons, including Martian Manhunter, Sinestro, Aquaman and more.

#9 Linda Evans As The Bionic Woman

She wasn't the first choice for the role of Jamie Sommers in the 1970s hit The Bionic Woman, but she was in the top three considered. Evans ruled herself out, however, after she told producers she wasn't ready to be the only lead in a weekly series at the time. In November 1976, Evans told Marilyn Beck's syndicated Hollywood newspaper column, she was "glad" she turned down the role. "Being the only lead on a weekly show would have been just too much." Meanwhile, Lindsay Wagner was earning $500,000 per season. Evans went on to join the ensemble cast of Dynasty.

#10 Linda Harrison As Wonder Woman

While William Dozier's Dick Tracy showed promise, his misguided attempt at a camp take on Wonder Woman is best lost to history. His 1967 production Who's Afraid of Diana Prince? turned the Amazonian into a lighthearted sitcom character. Ellie Wood Walker played the mild mannered Diana Prince, living on an Air Force base with her mother. When Diana gazes into a mirror, she sees herself as the goddess Wonder Woman, played by beauty Linda Harrison. You best know Harrison as Nova in Planet of the Apes.

#11 Billy Curtis As Superpup

There were a few unwise attempts at crafting spin-offs from Adventures of Superman. After the death of George Reeves, producers floated the idea of continuing the show as Superman's Pal, Jimmy Olsen. Jack Larson, who played Olsen, respectfully nipped that right in the bud. Instead, two goofy pilots were made. One featured Johnny Rockwell in Adventures of Superboy. The other was the bizarre Adventures of Superpup, which cast little people as dogs. Billy Curtis, who appeared as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz, scored the lead role of Superpup and his alter-ego Bark Bent. Groan.

#12 Many Actors As Superman

A slew of actors who could have played Superman, but the strangest one for me to think about is Sylvester Stallone. It crazy to imagine Richard Donner's Superman: The Movie without Christopher Reeves. He was the perfect Superman, and it would have been a travesty if Stallone had gotten the part instead of him. But he was in the top list of actors being considered. After Rocky blew up he was a hot ticket, and he wanted the part badly. It could have been his if Marlon Brando wanted him to play his son in the film, but Brando nixed that. Early in production Warren Beatty, Robert Redford, and Burt Reynolds were also being considered for the role. They even met with Jon Voight and Neil Diamond. Later, for the next series of the franchise, Nicolas Cage was set to slip into the red undies until director Tim Burton gave him the slip after taking over the project from Jon Peters and Kevin Smith.

#13 Bill Murray As Batman

Before Tim Burton helmed the franchise, Warner Brothers was looking into producing a film based around the '60s "Bam! Pow!" TV show, in the same satirical vein. The choice for Bruce Wayne? CaddyshackâÂ€Â˜s Bill Murray. "I would have been a fine Batman," he later told MTV. "You know, there have been a number of Batmen. I like them I thought Mike Keaton did a great job as Batman." Just think if it wasn't for Tim Burton choosing to go dark with the Dark Knight, the history of superhero movies could have been radically different.

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