Gladiator
The role of the Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the epic historical film Gladiator won multiple awards and would see its star, Russell Crowe, collect the Academy Award for Best Actor for his stellar performance. However, it could have been another famous antipodean that could have been holding the much coveted golden statuette, one Mel Gibson.
Gibson had already proved himself entirely capable of playing someone really angry in a historical setting in his 1995 historical epic Braveheart (which he actually won the Academy Award for Best Director). However, as Gibson was 44 at the time of his potential casting, the actor felt that he was too old for the role so it instead went to Crowe who was 36 at the time.
