The Fast And Furious franchise is perhaps one of the most well-known and adored franchises in Hollywood. Outside of having an exceptionally talented cast, with actors like Jason Statham, Gal Gadot, Charlize Theron, and most famously, Vin Diesel, featured in their films, the franchise had also attracted its audience through the strong themes of familial bond, as well as their love for expensive and modified cars, and destroying them.

Vin Diesel
With the franchise being this iconic, it is difficult to imagine someone other than Diesel playing the role of Dominic Toretto, however, that would have been very likely if another actor had not turned down the job.

 

Timothy Olyphant Was Going To Play Dominic Toretto In The Fast and Furious Franchise

Neal Moritz, the producer of The Fast and Furious franchise, revealed that when the production team went to their studio with the concept of the franchise, they were told that if they could get Timothy Olyphant, best known for his work in Hitman, Scream 2, and The Girl Next Door, onto the project, it would be immediately greenlit.
Timothy Olyphant was the original pick
“The studio said, ‘If you get Timothy Olyphant to play the role of Dominic Toretto, the movie’s greenlit. We went to Tim, and he passed, and we wondered if we were going to get to make it.” Moritz stated.

This, unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, did not happen as Olyphant ended up rejecting the film. Thankfully for the studio, Vin Diesel had already made somewhat of a name for himself at the time through his work in Pitch Black and he agreed to play the protagonist of the film, joining his career-defining franchise.

 

Why Did Timothy Olyphant Pass On The Fast and Furious Franchise?

The question that arises after learning the reality of Vin Diesel’s casting is why did Timothy Olyphant pass on playing Dom Toretto in The Fast and Furious franchise? The actor revealed that when he was approached with the franchise, the first thing that he thought was that the entire concept was quite stupid and that no one was going to watch it. He elaborated that he believed that he could not imagine someone watching the film multiple times, adding that eventually people would get bored of the movies.
Fast and the Furious
“I just thought, well, this will just be stupid, and I thought no one is gonna wanna see this movie eight or nine different times. I mean, by the third or fourth sequel, people are gonna definitely get bored of it. Right?” he stated.
Olyphant was clearly wrong as the most recent film, Fast X is the tenth film in the main franchise and the first in a three-part finale. More unfortunately for him, Diesel has earned far more than $100 million for his work in the franchise, not to mention all the opportunities he has received due to his work here. It would seem, however, that Olyphant has no regrets about passing up this opportunity, stating that the franchise would not have been the right fit for him.