34 Actors Who Passed On ‘I, Frankenstein’ Before Aaron Eckhart Took Role Glad They Listened To Gut Instinct 0 out of 5 based on 0 ratings. 0 user reviews.

On the heels of “I, Frankenstein,” the $65 million action-horror film that tanked at this past weekend’s boxoffice, making a paltry $8.6 million, all thirty-four actors who passed on the project prior to Aaron Eckhart accepting the lead role in the cinematic atrocity, have revealed they are glad they listened to their gut instinct. Eckhart admitted he was devastated to learn that thirty-four actors passed on the project, since the producers of “I, Frankenstein” assured him that he was their first and only choice to play the iconic monster.

“I should have suspected the producers were lying, since they also told me Frankenstein’s monster helping gargoyles fight demons was a good idea,” Eckhart told Hollywood & Swine. “I haven’t felt this depressed since I went in character to a support group for real parents who lost children in preparation for my role in ‘Rabbit Hole.’ ”

According to “I, Frankenstein” writer and director Stuart Beattie, the list of actors who passed on this project before Eckhart included Will Smith, Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert Downey Jr. Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Denzel Washington, Mark Wahlberg, Vin Diesel, Daniel Day Lewis, Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Russell Crowe, Matt Damon, Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, Nicolas Cage, Jason Statham, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Renner, Ryan Gosling, Gerard Butler, James Franco, Michael Fassbender, Chris Evans, Matthew McConaughney, Bruce Willis, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Ryan Reynolds and Sam Worthington.

“After Sam Worthington passed, we really started getting nervous nobody would be foolish enough to agree to star in ‘I, Frankenstein,’ ” Beattie said. “Then someone recommended we should call the actor who played Harvey ‘Two Face’ Dent in that ‘Batman’ movie. We did, but unfortunately Tommy Lee Jones didn’t answer, so we then ended up calling Aaron.”