Alicia Keys And Beyoncé Both Turned Down The Same Reboot Role

Alicia Keys and Beyoncé are both mega stars in the music world. However, even the most ardent fan may not know that both declined an offer at possible cinema glory by turning down the lead female role in "A Star is Born." The most recent iteration sees Lady Gaga take on the role of Ally, an aspiring pop star who hitches her wagon to aging singer Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) in the hopes of making it big.

Of course, there's always a chance the film they starred in wouldn't have been the hit that audiences saw in 2018. The most recent version of the film has roots going back to the early 2000s. That's when Keys was courted to appear in the story opposite Will Smith. MTV posted an article in 2002 about how Keys wouldn't star in the film, and at the time, Joel Schumacher was attached to direct. A decade later, the story was still trying to get off the ground when Variety reported that Beyoncé turned down the lead female role. After Beyoncé dropped out, Eastwood was reportedly interested in getting jazz artist Esperanza Spalding, but that also went nowhere.

The 2018 film is the fourth American adaptation of this story, and it took a while to hit the big screen. Both Beyoncé and Keys have done well for themselves in the years since, but these casting stories make for intriguing "What ifs" in the history of Hollywood. 

Alicia Keys and Beyoncé each had their reasons for turning down "A Star is Born." Keys' manager, Jeff Robinson, told MTV, "She was asked to do it, but her first movie shouldn't be a movie where she's basically playing herself." As for Beyoncé, it came down to a busy schedule. Needless to say, there was a lot riding on yet another remake for a story people had seen before multiple times. And that also came down to finding the right man to star opposite the leading lady. 

While Will Smith was considered in the early 2000s, the Variety article mentions some of the heavy hitters Clint Eastwood considered, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, and, interestingly enough, Bradley Cooper. The article is from 2012 when Cooper's star was still on the rise after the massive success of "The Hangover," but he hadn't really had a chance to show off his dramatic chops yet. He'd ultimately end up getting the part, and 2018's "A Star is Born" marked his directorial debut. 

The finished product was ultimately nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning for best original song for "Shallow," which also received a ton of radio airplay. It's a monumental achievement, made all the more impressive that Cooper considered leaving Hollywood beforehand and took a huge gamble with "A Star is Born." It's safe to say everything worked out for the best in the end.