During the holiday season, it's always nice to kick back and watch some all-time classic Christmas movies. Films like A Christmas Story and Home Alone have cemented themselves as great holiday favorites that always manage to bring smiles and laughs. It's hard to think of these movies being any different. However, had things gone differently in the casting department, they most certainly would have.
Just like any movie, several iconic Christmas films almost featured different actors. These roles may not have been as memorable with different actors, or they may have been better. It's always fun to wonder what those movies could have looked like and how different they could have been.
10 George Carlin Could Have Been Scrooge
The Muppet Christmas Carol
It's hard to think of anyone playing the greedy miser-turned-charitable civilian Ebenezer Scrooge in The Muppet Christmas Carol as perfectly as Michael Caine did. However, he was not the original choice for the role. One surprising choice was iconic comedian George Carlin.
With Carlin as Scrooge, The Muppet Christmas Carol may have been overtly comedic. Still, Caine's serious and grounded portrayal helped the film stay true to its source material while still allowing for some Muppet-style hijinks. Both actors are talented, but fans love The Muppet Christmas Carol as it is.
9 Joe Pesci Could Have Gone To War With Schwarzenegger
Jingle All The Way
1996's Jingle All the Way stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Howard Langston, a father who tries to obtain a popular action figure for his young son on Christmas Eve. Amidst the chaos he finds himself in, he squares off with Myron Larabee (Sinbad), who is trying to get the same action figure for his son. Myron is willing to stoop to even lower levels of deception to get it.
When Jingle All the Way was being cast, producer Chris Columbus had originally wanted Joe Pesci to play Myron because he was much closer in height and frame to Schwarzenegger. It certainly would have been worth it to see Pesci bring his hilarious, short-tempered attitude to the role, but it's hard to deny that Sinbad and Schwarzenegger's chemistry makes Jingle All the Way work so well.
8 Robert De Niro Almost Played Harry Lyme Instead Of Joe Pesci
Home Alone
One of Joe Pesci's most beloved roles was as two-bit crook Harry Lyme, one half of the criminal duo known as the Wet Bandits in Home Alone. Home Alone is one of the funniest Christmas movies of all time and an absolute classic. Pesci was the third actor approached for Harry, as the role was offered to his Goodfellas co-star Robert De Niro, who passed on the part.
There's no doubt that De Niro could have put his own unique and entertaining spin on Harry. Still, Pesci plays the role in such an enjoyably sleazy and ridiculous fashion that it's hard to see any other actor in his place.
7 Kevin McAllister Could Have Been John Mulaney's First Big Role
Home Alone
Comedian John Mulaney is now a household name, but had things gone differently in the 1990s, he could have been a star much sooner. As he revealed in an interview on Live With Kelly & Ryan, Mulaney had been part of a sketch comedy group for young children in Chicago.
A talent scout had come by and asked Mulaney's parents if the then-7-year-old Mulaney wanted to audition for the role of Kevin McAllister in Home Alone. Mulaney's parents declined the offer. As intriguing as it would have been to see the always-funny Mulaney play Kevin, the role was embodied perfectly by Macaulay Culkin. Both actors are talented, but Culkin's portrayal is iconic.
6 Chevy Chase Nearly Took Tim Allen's Place As Scott Calvin
The Santa Clause
Disney's The Santa Clause franchise has returned with the Disney+ series The Santa Clauses, with Tim Allen returning to his role as Scott Calvin/Santa Claus. It all started with 1994's The Santa Clause, though Allen nearly missed out on playing the lead role.
Chevy Chase was one of the actors sought to play Scott/Santa, but scheduling issues with another film prevented him from taking the role. While Chase probably could have brought his own kind of comedic sensibilities to the role, Allen captures the essence of the character and more than manages to make Scott both likable and funny.
5 Bill Murray Came Close To Playing Willie T. Sokes
Bad Santa
Bill Murray isn't a stranger to playing cantankerous yet lovable characters, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that he came close to playing criminal Willie T. Sokes in 2003's Bad Santa. Scheduling issues with Lost in Translation caused Murray to drop out of the project and Billy Bob Thornton took his place.
There's no doubt that Murray is a talented comedy actor who could have excelled in the role, but it's for the best that he didn't get it. Lost in Translation was a transformative role for the comedic icon that garnered him plenty of praise, and Thornton did an equally impressive job in Bad Santa.
4 Wil Wheaton Was Almost Ralphie Parker
A Christmas Story
Wil Wheaton rocketed to fame in the 1980s thanks to his roles in Stand by Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation, though he nearly landed another big role around that time as well. Wheaton was one of 1000 child actors to audition for nine-year-old Ralphie Parker in A Christmas Story, though it eventually wound up going to Peter Billingsley.
Wheaton would have been good in the role, but as A Christmas Story came out in 1983, he was just a few years away from his breakout role in Stand By Me. Besides, Billingsley's cynical yet earnest performance is one of the many highlights in an all-around holiday classic.
3 The Old Man Could Have Been Jack Nicholson
A Christmas Story
Another pivotal role in A Christmas Story is Ralphie's short-tempered yet loving and eccentric father. The older Ralphie refers to this character in his narration as "The Old Man." The late Darren McGavin excellently brought this role to life, but another acclaimed actor could have had it instead.
On the film's DVD commentary, director Bob Clark mentions that Jack Nicholson had been considered to play Ralphie's father before McGavin was cast. Nicholson is an acting legend, but McGavin was able to balance the hardheaded yet sympathetic aspects of the character flawlessly.
2 Eddie Murphy Almost Became The Grinch
How The Grinch Stole Christmas
Eddie Murphy was among the many actors who were considered to play the titular character in the 2000 adaptation of Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas. However, the role of the green-furred, Christmas-hating curmudgeon, one of the most famous Christmas movie characters, went to Jim Carrey instead.
While Carrey's lovably gonzo performance as the Grinch is hard to top, Murphy could have still been a fun pick for the role. He's more accustomed to heavy prosthetics than Carrey usually is and would have delivered a unique yet entertaining take on the character.
1 Jim Carrey Came Very Close To Being Buddy
Elf
Elf is pretty much impossible to imagine without Will Ferrell in the main role of Buddy, but Jim Carrey had been attached to the part when the film was first getting off the ground in 1993. The project remained stuck in development hell for close to 10 years, during which Carrey dropped out and Ferrell stepped in.
Carrey's take on Buddy probably would have been funny to boot, but Ferrell's boundless energy and eccentric mannerisms are infectious. Ferrell's hilarious acting makes him iconic from his first scene. The rest is history.