Major female film roles that were originally for men

Kyle Pratt in ‘Flightplan’ (2005)

The 2005 thriller starring Jodie Foster tells the story of an aircraft engineer and mother whose daughter goes missing on a flight from Berlin to the US.

Evelyn Quan Wang in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' (2022)

It's hard to imagine anyone but Michelle Yeoh as the star of 2022's runaway hit, 'Everything Everywhere All at Once.' However, her role was originally written with Jackie Chan in mind. Chan and Yeoh are old friends but there's also a competitive nature to their friendship. "Did you know that the boys came to see me in China?"  Chan texted her after she had started filming, referring to co-directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who are often called the Daniels. Yeoh responded, "Yes, your loss, my bro!" She has suggested in interviews that it was a mutual decision between Chan and the Daniels as he was busy at the time and they were considering focusing on a female lead. 

Evelyn Salt in ‘Salt’ (2010)

Although Cruise was never signed, he was keen, and director Philipp Noyce initially thought it was a crazy idea to send the script to Jolie. However, when he thought about it, he realized it "only had pluses."

Jane Bodine in ‘Our Brand Is Crisis’ (2015)

Bullock apparently landed the role after she became disillusioned with what was on offer and addressed filmmakers, saying: "I’m not reading anything I’m excited about. Are there any male roles out there that they don’t mind switching to a female role?"

Ellen Ripley in the ‘Alien’ series

Ultimately, however, the producers decided to follow the contemporary trend of strong female leads, and they cast Sigourney Weaver instead. Weaver starred in the first three 'Alien' films.

Murph in ‘Interstellar’ (2014)

Director Christopher Nolan told Dazed that it may have been because his first child is a daughter that he changed Murph into a girl. He said that writing the father-daughter relationship came very easily.

Jess in ‘Secret in Their Eyes’ (2015)

Speaking to reporters, Roberts, who has often been asked to play roles that were initially intended for a man, joked, "It takes two men to make one me."

Kate in ‘Overboard’ (2018)

In the 2018 remake, the genders of the protagonists are reversed and Anna Faris plays Russell's character. It is she who comes out on top when Hawn's character (played by Eugenio Derbez) begins to suffer from amnesia.

Captain Phasma in ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ (2015)

Christie was apparently unaware of this until after the movie was released. She told a journalist: "It's so interesting, because I'm really uncovering more about this film from people like you than I knew before."

Zula in ‘Conan The Destroyer’ (1984)

In the 1984 film 'Conan The Destroyer,' the character of Zula was played by Grace Jones. She starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and former NBA player Wilt Chamberlain.

M in the ‘James Bond’ films

The legendary actress obviously holds the role of M very close to her heart. Speaking of when she found out her time was up, she said: "They told me gently and I laughed through my tears."

Alicia Clark in ‘The Paper’ (1994)

In fact, Close was allegedly so determined to play the role as it was originally written, that she insisted they keep in the fist fight between her character and Michael Keaton's.

Hobson in ‘Arthur’ (2011)

Mirren's character is Arthur's nanny rather than his chauffeur, but she exhibits the same levels of patience and love for Arthur as Gielgud's character does in the original film.

Paula in ‘The 40-Year-Old Virgin’ (2005)

Paula the store manager is not Lynch's only role that was written for a man: apparently her character in 'The Fugitive' (1993) was also written with a man in mind.