The entertainment industry is littered with stories of turned-down parts and casting choices that might have been. Recently, Kate Hudson (“Almost Famous”) revealed that she almost played Mary Jane Watson in 2002’s “Spider-Man” movie. The part went to Kirsten Dunst (“Roofman”), who played the character for 3 films directed by Sam Raimi (“Evil Dead”).
“It’s one of those things where I look back like, ‘That would have been nice to be in a Spider-Man movie,’” Hudson said on “Watch What Happens Live.” “But at the same time, I did a movie called ‘Four Feathers.’ I got to meet Heath Ledger who became a very good friend and I got an experience that I would have never had.”
“The Four Feathers” is a war drama released the same year, with Hudson and Ledger starring opposite Djimon Hounsou (“A Quiet Place: Day One“) and Wes Bentley (“Yellowstone“). The film made $29 million at the box office, on a $35 million budget, with a mixed critical reception.
“A part of me is like, ‘Life happens exactly the way it’s supposed to,’” she said. “And so, I’m grateful for it. But I do look at it and I’m like, ‘Aw, it would have been fun to be [Mary Jane].’”
“It doesn’t feel good to talk about it ’cause the people who are in the movie are the right people and your circumstances in life happen the way they happen,” Hudson added.
Hudson currently stars in Netflix’s “Running Point.” Season 2 is set to hit sometime in the spring of 2026.
