Misery: 10 Actors Considered To Play Paul

When Rob Reiner began work on a film adaptation of Stephen King’s Misery, the lead role of Paul Sheldon was offered to just about every established star in Hollywood. But Reiner had a tough time getting somebody to agree to play the part, because the script made it abundantly clear that Paul would be overshadowed by his number one fan and worst enemy, Annie Wilkes, ultimately played by an Oscar-winning Kathy Bates.

James Caan agreed to play Paul because he was intrigued by the challenge of playing a reactionary character. According to screenwriter William Goldman’s book Which Lie Did I Tell?, these actors all turned down the role of Paul before Caan was cast.

10 William Hurt

William Hurt was the producers’ top choice for the role of Paul Sheldon. When he turned down their first offer, they offered it to him again in the hope that the actor might’ve had a change of heart, but he rejected the role a second time.

Hurt currently plays General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and previously gave acclaimed performances in Altered States, Body Heat, and Broadcast News.

9 Richard Dreyfuss

After William Hurt turned down the role of Paul Sheldon, the part was offered to Richard Dreyfuss, who also turned it down. Dreyfuss is best known for his work with Steven Spielberg, having played marine biologist Matt Hooper in Jaws and mashed potato-sculpting UFO witness Roy Neary in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Being one of Hollywood’s quintessential everymen, Dreyfuss would’ve been a great fit for the role of Paul. He’d previously worked with director Rob Reiner on Stand by Me, another Stephen King adaptation in which he played a writer.

8 Robert De Niro

One of the many actors who turned down the role of Paul Sheldon was Robert De Niro, whose career had been reinvigorated throughout the ’80s following his powerful performance as boxer Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese’s black-and-white biopic Raging Bull.

In the same year that Misery hit theaters, De Niro received some of the best reviews of his career for his supporting turn as Jimmy Conway alongside Ray Liotta and an Oscar-winning Joe Pesci in Goodfellas.

7 Michael Douglas

After playing one character who’s terrorized by an unstable woman with an unhealthy attachment to him in Fatal Attraction, Michael Douglas could’ve played another one in Misery. However, he turned down the part.

Douglas ended up making some of his best movies throughout the ’90s, including Falling Down and The Game. He also starred in Basic Instinct, which was a huge hit with audiences, but not with critics.

6 Dustin Hoffman

The producers of Misery offered the role of Paul Sheldon to Dustin Hoffman, but he turned it down. Hoffman has been one of the biggest movie stars in the world since his revelatory turn in The Graduate way back in 1967.

He’s since given acclaimed performances in Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie, and Rain Man. It’s hardly surprising that Misery wasn’t his cup of tea — he’s never made a full-blown horror film.

5 Kevin Kline

The role of Paul Sheldon was initially offered to Kevin Kline, but he turned it down. While movies like Sophie’s Choice have more than proven Kline’s dramatic range, he undoubtedly would’ve brought some humor to the role of Paul.

These days, Kline is perhaps best known for his recurring role as eccentric landlord Mr. Fischoeder on Bob’s Burgers.

4 Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman, renowned for playing a diverse range of roles like megalomaniacal supervillain Lex Luthor and estranged patriarch Royal Tenenbaum, turned down the role of Paul in Misery.

Although Hackman hasn’t made much of a splash in horror cinema, the stranglehold of paranoia in Francis Ford Coppola’s underrated thriller The Conversation is certainly terrifying.

3 Robert Redford

Sundance co-founder Robert Redford was one of the actors who turned down the role of Paul Sheldon. Redford retired from acting recently with his acclaimed role in The Old Man & the Gun, although he briefly returned to the MCU for a cameo appearance as Alexander Pierce in Avengers: Endgame.

Redford has often played characters with Paul’s paranoid streak, but it’s usually due to a political conspiracy, like his roles in All the President’s Men and Three Days of the Condor.

2 Al Pacino

Al Pacino, widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the world since finding international success with The Godfather, in which he co-starred with James Caan, was offered the role of Paul in Misery and turned it down.

A couple of years later, Pacino made Scent of a Woman, which brought the actor his long-awaited first Oscar win. In 1997, he appeared in a different horror movie, The Devil’s Advocate, with Keanu Reeves.

1 Harrison Ford

The role of Paul Sheldon was offered to Harrison Ford, who was on top of the world at the time with the success of 1989’s Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but he turned it down.

Although his best-known roles are action heroes like Indy, Han Solo, Rick Deckard, Jack Ryan, and President James Marshall, Ford dipped into the horror genre with the underrated supernatural thriller What Lies Beneath.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3458 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

More From Ben Sherlock