Credit: Bruce Baker
Sun 9 August 2026 9:00, UK
Every actor has their regrets, like turning down movies they assumed would fail, only for them to become hugely successful. The inverse can be true, too; at the end of the day, it often just comes down to chance.
John Cleese, the actor and writer who defined British comedy with his role as Basil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers, as well as his contributions to the Monty Python group, knows a thing or two about regret. It’s not like he has missed out on becoming a beloved figure in the industry – Cleese’s position has long been secured since those early days of Monty Python’s Flying Circus – but he still wishes he hadn’t turned down several roles that he really liked the look of.
Unfortunately for Cleese, there was a role that he found himself unable to commit to purely for personal reasons, leaving him with no choice other than to say no to a part that he really wanted – it was the late 1980s, and the comedic actor was offered a role in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which would instead go to another British icon, Michael Caine.
The 1988 film was a hit, serving as a remake of the 1964 movie Bedtime Story, which featured Marlon Brando and David Niven in the leading roles… Directed by Ralph Levy, the movie was praised for its funniness, but the story would come to take on bigger and better success with Steve Martin and Caine in the leading roles decades on, with a Broadway musical of the same name eventually emerging in 2004.
“I have some genuine regrets. Frank Oz wanted me to make Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Steve Martin. I would loved to have done that. But my second marriage was in such a parlous state I didn’t think I could disappear for three months,” Cleese told Shortlist.
So, with Cleese unable to accept the part, Caine stepped up to the post, and the Cockney actor ended up having the time of his life. At least someone benefited from the marital troubles that Cleese was facing. The actor revealed that he had boatloads of fun while filming, essentially treating it as a gorgeous holiday across France.
“I had the best summer and the best time, and I never made a happier picture,” he revealed to NPR. “This was a double whammy because the picture was a big hit and a big success, and it was a picture that I loved watching even, and I don’t watch my own movies very much.”
Further reading: Cutting Room Floor
That’s not the only regret that Cleese has, though. Just a few years later, he was offered a role in The Remains of the Day, which earned Anthony Hopkins an Oscar nomination, but he turned it down due to changes made to the script. Looking back, though, he can’t help but wish that he had not rushed to conclusions.
Concluding, “Mike Nichols offered me the lead in The Remains Of The Day. That I turned down on artistic grounds because Harold Pinter did the last draft and took all the jokes out. I thought the only justification for a film about depression was the wonderful humour that Ishiguro brought to the book. Of course, I was wrong.”
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