Being one of the most accomplished actors in Hollywood, Charlize Theron flaunts her talent and ability to star in several versatile roles. Often known as the epitome of glamor and talent, Theron even received an Oscar for her role in 2003’s Monster. However, there are a few movies that the actress turned down or didn’t get, that could have elongated her list of Oscars.

Charlize Theron, starring in a diverse array of roles, from indie films to blockbusters, enjoyed great success throughout her career. Nevertheless, Theron rejected several iconic roles during her prime, which currently appears like a career suicide for the actress. However, one of the major projects that Theron lost was Ron Howard’s highly acclaimed 2001 drama A Beautiful Mind.

Charlize Theron Lost Her Role In A Beautiful Mind 

Known for her uncanny onscreen transformations, Charlize Theron often gets introduced as the versatile Oscar-winning movie star. Appearing frank and modest, the actress passionately embraces the journey of her career. Gaining her international prominence in the 1990s by playing several critically acclaimed roles, Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as a serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, in Monster (2003).

Charlize Theron in Monster (2003)
Often taking up dramatic indie films and large-scale blockbuster movies as her projects, Charlize Theron got her first breakthrough in 1997, by playing the leading lady in The Devil’s Advocate. Ever since then, Theron never looked back and enjoyed the grandeur of her success. But, no matter which role she played, there were always some projects that she rejected.

Theron failed to win the role in A Beautiful Mind

To be fair, Charlize Theron didn’t always have the opportunity to reject a project as she got turned down, at times. Despite her impressive acting skills, Theron once failed to bag a million-dollar role for herself. Appearing to audition in none other than the acclaimed director, Ron Howard‘s 2001 drama A Beautiful Mind, Theron failed to mesmerize with her enchanting performance. Thus, the actress lost her $316M role to Jennifer Connelly.

Jennifer Connelly Won The Oscar For A Beautiful Mind 

Creating visual brilliance out of Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr’s real-life story, Ron Howard initially wanted to star Tom Cruise as the lead and Charlize Theron for his wife Alicia. Developing the story of an asocial mathematician for the government, who went through a dramatic journey to discover his mental ailment, schizophrenia, Howard mentioned, “The mind is almost a character in this movie”.

Director Ron Howard wanted to cast Charlize Theron

Although the director desperately wanted Cruise and Theron to appear together, none of them impressed as they should have been. Thus, the lead ultimately went to Russell Crowe, and his wife’s role went to Jennifer Connelly. Previously grabbing the audiences’ attention with her performance in another psychological drama Requiem for a Dream (2000), Connelly evidently gave her Oscar-winning performance in A Beautiful Mind.

Jennifer Connelly bagged the lead role in A Beautiful Mind

Thus, Charlize Theron not only lost her $316M role to Jennifer Connelly but also the Oscar. However, she went on to perform her biggest role in Woody Allen’s The Curse of the Jade Scorpio. Following her first Oscar loss in 2001, Theron gave her best performance in 2003’s Monster and later got two Oscar nods for her epic performance in North Country and Bombshell.