Tom Hardy is one of the most bonafide and respected actors in Hollywood. Hardy has been in the film industry for decades, and throughout his career, he has had the perks of collaborating with many boundary-pushing directors on their spectacular cinematic masterpieces. However, many might not know that the actor nearly played the role of Rick Flag in David Ayer-directed 2016 American superhero film Suicide Squad.
During a media interaction, the actor opened up about what initially intrigued him to star in the movie. He also revealed that scheduling conflicts with his other project forced him to drop out of this movie and thus missed the opportunity to play such a significant role. Nevertheless, following his departure, another A-list star, Jake Gyllenhaal, was offered to depict the role of leader of the superhero team, but he also reportedly passed on this prospect.
Jake Gyllenhaal Nearly Played the role of Rick Flag in the Film Suicide Squad
Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the most highly acclaimed actors in Hollywood. The actor has made a name for himself in the industry and proved why he remained on top of his acting A-game. He has built an epic filmography containing iconic and fascinating movies. The 42-year-old star has been in showbiz since the late 1980s and has continued to delight the audience with his inescapable on-screen persona and power-packed performances.
Like any actor, the City Slickers movie star has rejected several movies and roles, including David Ayer’s superhero film Suicide Squad. According to the reports of Variety, Gyllenhaal passed on the chance to play the role of Rick Flag in Will Smith starrer 2016 movie Suicide Squad. Sources told the outlet that the actor got the opportunity to portray this significant role after Tom Hardy turned down the proposal.
While both the actors missed this golden opportunity, the film did exceptionally well at the global box office, grossing over $746 million. The film boasts a stellar cast ensemble featuring Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis, Jai Courtney, Jay Hernandez, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, and Cara Delevingne.
Tom Hardy Reveals Why He Declined to Star in the Movie
As reported by Collider, Tom Hardy revealed during a media interaction what initially intrigued him to star in the 2016 superhero film Suicide Squad and why he dropped out to play the role of Rick Flag. Hardy shared,
“Warner Bros. is my home studio, and I love them, so I was really bummed out. I wanted to work on that, and I know the script is really f**king alley, and I also know what’s gonna happen with The Joker and Harley Quinn in that; I won’t give away too much…it’s f**king alley. And that whole territory is something that I would certainly—I mean, everybody loves The Joker. Everybody loves The Joker. Will Smith is a dope guy, but everybody loves The Joker, and that’s gonna, I think, be a very important film for fans.”
The actor further shared that due to scheduling conflicts, as he was filming his movie The Reverent, he was forced to drop out of this iconic project,
“There’s a very practical element as to why I’ve missed out on that foray, which is because Alejandro [G. Inarritu] has overshot by three months in Calgary, so we’ve got to go back out to Patagonia or Alaska to continue shooting The Revenant, which has turned into a much bigger beast than we thought, but that also looks exceptional.”
Despite his interest in playing the role of Rick Flag in the movie, the actor had to turn down the offer because he was filming another movie. After Tom Hardy and Jake Gyllenhaal passed on the opportunity, Joel Kinnaman ultimately played this role and earned critical acclaim.
Suicide Squad is available for streaming on Netflix.
