We all know Margaret Hamilton as the despicable Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz (1939). However, she took over the role only after the original actress walked off set for the following reason:
The actress who was meant to play the Wicked Witch was Gale Sondergaard. And the original concept of her character was meant to be a slinky and seductive sorceress, who was beautiful despite her evil nature (see picture above) – very much like the Evil Queen from Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) –; however, producers and filmmakers quickly changed her makeup to a more traditional ugly witch (see below).
Soon, Sondergaard was reluctant to wear the disfiguring makeup, fearing it could damage her career – indeed, her striking features defied the grease paint –; eventually, she decided to turn down the role, leaving it to Margaret Hamilton. She later implied:
In those days, I was not about to make myself ugly. I have no regrets. Absolutely no regrets.
Another example concerns Sir Ian McKellen, during filming his role as Gandalf in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012). Sure enough, it has been established that the British actor was very uncomfortable and unhappy about working in front of a green screen, because he had to act all by himself, with no one in front of him – at one point, the experience almost made him break down and cry! McKellen describes this experience as follows:
It was so distressing and off-putting and difficult that I thought, “I don’t want to make this film if this is what I’m going to do”. It’s not what I do for a living. I act with other people, I don’t act on my own.