THE ROLE NOT TAKEN

  PARTS ALAN MIGHT HAVE NEARLY, ALMOST, PRACTICALLY PLAYED

(but mostly...not)
Recent additions are marked *new*

*new*
DOCTOR ADAMS in a film titled The Ultimate Team.  An article about this futuristic action film, supposedly set to be released in 2007, was about to be deleted from Wikipedia last time we checked.  A hoax?  Mere wishful thinking?
 

PRINCE ALBERT in BBC miniseries Victoria opposite Jane Horrocks (yes, Bubble).

Sources: Daily Express, December 29, 1999
           Sunday Times (London) January 2, 2000, article titled, “One’s in Love, Albert”
  BENEDICT in The Last Action Hero.  Charles Dance got the part instead, but his copy of the script still contained references to AR.  Dance’s reaction was  to wear a t-shirt on the set that said “I’m cheaper than Alan Rickman”.
 Sources:
    Alan Rickman--The Unauthorized Biography, (Maureen Paton:  Virgin, 2003), p. 216.

    True Myths of Arnold Schwarzenegger:  The Life and Times of Arnold Schwarzenegger, from Pumping Iron to  Governor of California (Nigel Andrews:  Bloomsbury, 2003.  Revised and Expanded edition), p. 199.

JAMES BOND or ALEC TREVELYAN in GoldenEye.
 Source:  www.fandom.com/james_bond.
CHARLES in Four Weddings and a Funeral  *new*
Source:  Interview with Hugh Grant in Chicago Sun-Times, November 14, 2003.
  BARON DE CHARLUS in an adaptation by Robert David MacDonald of Proust’s A la Recherche du Temps Perdu.  (called “A Waste of Time”?)
Source: The Citz—21 Years of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, Michael Coveney:  Nick Hern Books, 1990, pp. 159-160.
ALIESTER CROWLEY in the as yet unmade film biography written by Snoo Wilson tentatively called The Beast.
 Source: The Scotsman, September 6, 1998.
DEELEY in Harold Pinter's Old Times  *new*

  Source:  Variety announcement on August 21, 2006, also picked up by Broadwayworld.com 8-22-06.  Playbill.com posted an article on October 17, 2006 citing casting problems.  There is hope that this is merely a postponement, however.
 

DEL in the David Mamet Play, The Cryptogram.

 Source: The Independent in April, 1994.


GEORGE in a Broadway production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

 Source: New York Post, August 23, 2002 (Theatre Column).


HEADMASTER in film short Death of the Revolution .  AR was cast but not used because it was feared he would overshadow the children.

Source: UK Newsquest Regional Press – This is Local London, February 10, 2005.
    Article by Craig Nelson titled “A Film  Revolution”.
HANNIBAL LECTER in Silence of the Lambs.
 Source:  Paton, p. 215.


LEONARDO LEONARDO in a Kevin Smith’s animated series based on his film Clerks.

 Source: An Askew View—the Films of Kevin Smith, (John Kenneth Muir:  Applause Books, 2002), p. 184.
LISTER OR RIMMER (sources differ) in Red Dwarf.
 Source:  June 2003 Radio Times, and an article on www.bbb.co.uk.


COUNT OLOF in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.  The author of the books on which the film is based says that Alan Rickman was his first choice for this role, but AR was already busy making Harry Potter movies.

Source:  National Public Radio interview with Lemony Snicket/Daniel Handler
(NPR--All Things Considered, 12-16-2004).
JUAN PERON in Evita.
 Source:  Paton, p. 215.
MEREDITH POTTER in An Awfully Big Adventure
 Source:  Paton, p. 216.


BRYAN RICHARDSON in a Stephen Spielberg film tentatively called Coventry City--the Movie.

Pardon my shouting, but THIS IS A HOAX.
Source:    http://iccoventry.icnetwork.co.uk/0300coventrycity/0640skybluemonday/tm_objectid=14675203&method=full&siteid=50003&headline=spielberg-unveils-new-project-name_page.html
 Honestly, the further you read the more apparent it becomes that this is a fake news story!

  SCAR inThe Lion King.

 Source:  Paton,  p. 214 of the 2003 paperback.
LYTTON STRACHEY in Carrington.
Source:  Paton, p. 214.
   CHARLES STRICKLAND, the painter in The Moon and Sixpence, screenplay by Christopher Hampton.
Source: Film International, July 1987 (among other places).


ACE VENTURA, the role made famous by Jim Carrey.
Can’t really imagine AR in this part, can you?

Source: Jim Carey—The Joker is Wild, (Martin Knelman:  Firefly Books, 2000), p. 160.


GEORGE WASHINGTON in a PBS miniseries called Liberty

Source: London Free Press (London, Ontario, Canada), June 27, 1997, in an article about Canadian actor Colin Feore  who was said to play John Adams in the miniseries.  He ended up playing Alexander Hamilton, and Stephen Lang  played George Washington.

You can learn more about the series here:  http://www.pbs.org/ktca/liberty/liberty.html

  DR. WHO in one of his many incarnations.
Source:  This has been a persistent rumor for years.
  Unknown role in The Actors.
 Source: Soho Independent, in February 2001 (among other places).


Unknown role in an Arena program about George Orwell, BBC, c1983?

Source:  Credit on the Blind Corner (recorded book) box.


Unknown role in Bonnie Prince Charley, television documentary.

Source:  Listed in Alan’s resume in Contemporary Theatre, Film and TV, vol. 26.
Probably a phantom entry.
  Unknown role in Brown Sugar with Alfre Woodard.
 Source: The Daily News of Los Angeles, April 28, 1998.
Unknown role in Four Last Songs.    *new*
Source:  First announced on The Leaky Cauldron in 2004 (mis-titled “For Our Sons”), then listed on  http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfilms/comingsoon/fourlastsongs.shtml without AR’s name.  IMDB has a 2007 release date.
  Unknown role in Good Will Hunting.
 Source:  www.2launch.com/ben_affleck.html  (as of 3/27/97).
  Unknown role in a French film by Jacky Cukier titled Infrequentables.
 Source: Premiere France, April-May 2000.
  Unknown role in Journey to the Top of the World , proposed film based on the travel journal by Alexandra David-Neel called Journal de Voyage.
Source:  advertisement for the book.
  Unknown role in The Palace Thief (Kevin Kline's best friend?).
Source:  Annova.com on 2/13/01.
  Unknown role in film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera.
 Source: Hollywood Reporter in April, 2004.
(perhaps the role that eventually went to Ciaran Hinds?)


Unknown role in Manchester United Ruined My Life, based on the novel by Colin Shindler.  Film has not been made due to lack of funding.

Source:  there are announcements for this film all over the Internet, including these:
http://www.comingsoon.net/news.php?id=3924
http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/tickermaster/listing.cfm?TMID=1156


Unknown role in Poetry, 1983 film with Glenda Jackson and Dirk Bogarde.

Source: Quinlan's Illustrated Directory of Film Character Actors (David Quinlan: Batsford, c1995).

The entry on Alan Rickman ends with this intriguing statement, "...Rickman should have made his film debut five years  earlier than he did, but a 1983 project with Dirk Bogarde and Glenda Jackson was aborted at the last minute."

Still scratching my head over that one.

  Unknown or cameo role in Standing Room Only.
 Source:  IMDB for over a year.  The entry was removed shortly after the film was released
  Unknown villainous alien in any number of Star Trek movies.
 Source:  This is another persistent rumor which originated in an April Fools spoof.
Unknown role in Wanted a proposed movie about the Baader-Meinhoff gang.
Source:  http://movies.go.com/movies/W/wanted_2002/index.html.
*new*
  Unknown role in Zodiac, a film about the Zodiac Killer released in 2007.
Source:  Internet rumor picked up and passed around by various websites.
For example:  http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800021960/bio


Director of The Alice Trilogy, November-December 2005 at the Royal Court.
Actual director is Ian Rickson.

Source:  Posted incorrectly on whatsonstage.com, posted correctly on royalcourttheatre.com


Reader at the John Donne Celebration, St.Paul's Cathedral, June 9, 2005.  Originally scheduled to participate, but “due to unforeseen circumstances” could not take part.

Source:   Times (London), May 9, 2005.

 

My deep gratitude to Rebecca for much of the material on this page, including the title.

 
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