Top 20 Actors That Turned Down Incredibly Massive Roles

19. Mel Gibson – Roman Maximus

Mel Gibson was originally approached for the role of Roman Maximus in Gladiator. He turned down the role because he felt he was getting too old for those types of action movies. That is a bit strange since he took on The Patriot that same year. Gladiator was a big success, earning Russell Crowe an Oscar and skyrocketing his career. In the years that followed, Mel Gibson took a different direction.