Simone Ashley attends the premiere of F1 The Movie, despite having been cut from the film. AP
Simone Ashley attends the premiere of F1 The Movie, despite having been cut from the film. AP
Simone Ashley attends the premiere of F1 The Movie, despite having been cut from the film. AP
Simone Ashley attends the premiere of F1 The Movie, despite having been cut from the film. AP

Simone Ashley in F1? Harrison Ford in E.T.? 10 actors cut from movies


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It’s every actor’s worst nightmare. You’re attached to a project for months if not years, it finally gets greenlit and you film your scenes – only to end up on the cutting room floor. Case in point: Simone Ashley, the Bridgerton star due to appear opposite Brad Pitt in the exhilarating new motor-racing drama F1 The Movie.

“It happens on every film,” director Joseph Kosinski (of F1 and Top Gun: Maverick fame) told People magazine, noting how there are often two or three storylines that get dropped. Ashley can, however, take comfort that she’s is great company.

Here are nine major actors who did not make the final cut in critically acclaimed films.

Harrison Ford in E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Harrison Ford in a deleted scene from E.T. Photo: Universal Pictures
Harrison Ford in a deleted scene from E.T. Photo: Universal Pictures

Even the star who played Indiana Jones and Han Solo isn’t immune to the chop. Harrison Ford shot a role as Elliott Taylor's high-school principal in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 sci-fi classic, about a boy who befriends an alien. The scene had Ford lecturing Elliott (Henry Thomas), about his behaviour after he sets frogs free in his biology class. But Spielberg cut it, feeling Ford’s appearance would shift focus away from Elliott.

Mickey Rourke in The Thin Red Line

Many an actor has fallen foul of director Terrence Malick, known for pondering for years in the editing room, including Mickey Rourke. Playing a scout sniper in the 1998 all-star Second World War drama The Thin Red Line, featuring the likes of Adrien Brody and Sean Penn, Rourke was snipped from the final edit. “There were political reasons why I was out of the movie. That really upset me,” he said, believing his wild off-screen reputation had led to the decision.

Kevin Spacey in All The Money In The World

Kevin Spacey in All The Money In The World. Photo: TriStar Pictures
Kevin Spacey in All The Money In The World. Photo: TriStar Pictures

When actor Kevin Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct, director Ridley Scott cut all of Spacey’s scenes in this 2017 drama about the kidnapping of the grandson of wealthy tycoon John Paul Getty. It was impossible to excise Getty from the story, however, which meant Scott recast the character, bringing in Christopher Plummer and reshooting all the scenes. Plummer even got an Oscar nod.

Paul Rudd in Bridesmaids

Paul Rudd in a deleted scene from Bridesmaid. Photo: Universal Pictures
Paul Rudd in a deleted scene from Bridesmaid. Photo: Universal Pictures

One of the great losses in Paul Feig’s stellar 2011 romcom is Paul Rudd’s turn as an unhinged guy who singleton Annie (Kristen Wiig) dates. They go ice-skating and he slips over, injuring his finger and cursing at children. It was cut because Annie already had too many other paramours, making it potentially confusing for audiences, but the scene is hilarious. Check it out online.

May Calamawy in Gladiator II

The Egyptian-Palestinian actress, famed for Marvel TV show Moon Knight, suffered the same fate as F1’s Simone Ashley. Her role in Ridley Scott’s 2024 Gladiator sequel was drastically pruned, with just brief glimpses of her left in the final film, and no dialogue. While it was never revealed who she played (though she hinted at working with Denzel Washington, who played gladiator owner Macrinus), it’s likely her subplot was a victim of the film’s unwieldy 148-minute run-time.

Tobey Maguire in The Life of Pi

In 2012, when Ang Lee’s take on Yann Martel’s novel hit cinemas, Tobey Maguire was one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, thanks to his titular role in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. But this is exactly why Lee decided to drop Maguire as the reporter who listens to the fantastical tale of a boy shipwrecked with a Bengal tiger. Lee reshot the scenes with English actor Rafe Spall, as Maguire was deemed too distracting.

Robert Pattinson in Vanity Fair

These days, cutting Robert Pattinson would be unthinkable. But back in 2004, in what should’ve been his screen debut as the son of Reese Witherspoon’s Becky Sharp, he was severed from Vanity Fair. The film is director (and mother of Zohran Mamdani) Mira Nair’s take on William Makepeace Thackeray's classic Victorian novel. According to Pattinson, the casting director was so apologetic, she pushed him forward to play Cedric Diggory in the Harry Potter films. The rest, as they say, is history.

Ana de Armas in Yesterday

Ana de Armas appears in the trailer for Yesterday. Photo: Universal Pictures
Ana de Armas appears in the trailer for Yesterday. Photo: Universal Pictures

Before Knives Out, No Time To Die and Ballerina, Ana de Armas was set to charm us in Danny Boyle’s 2019 Beatles-infused romcom Yesterday. Playing a girl who catches the eye of struggling musician Jack (Himesh Patel), de Armas’ character didn’t play well with test audiences, who objected to the leading man’s eyes straying from his main love interest, Ellie (Lily James). De Armas still made the trailer, though, as Jack sings to her on James Corden’s talk show.

Sienna Miller in Black Mass

Another actress to fall foul of the unwanted girlfriend role, British star Miller was dropped from Scott Cooper’s 2015 gangster epic. It was something of a surprise, given she portrayed Catherine Greig, the girlfriend of mobster Whitey Bulger (Johnny Depp), who helped him avoid capture for 16 years. But with Dakota Johnson already playing Lyndsey, his love interest from an earlier part of his life, Miller’s role got the figurative bullet to the head.

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

'Top Gun: Maverick'

Rating: 4/5

 

Directed by: Joseph Kosinski

 

Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris

 
Wallabies

Updated team: 15-Israel Folau, 14-Dane Haylett-Petty, 13-Reece Hodge, 12-Matt Toomua, 11-Marika Koroibete, 10-Kurtley Beale, 9-Will Genia, 8-Pete Samu, 7-Michael Hooper (captain), 6-Lukhan Tui, 5-Adam Coleman, 4-Rory Arnold, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 2-Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1-Scott Sio.

Replacements: 16-Folau Faingaa, 17-Tom Robertson, 18-Taniela Tupou, 19-Izack Rodda, 20-Ned Hanigan, 21-Joe Powell, 22-Bernard Foley, 23-Jack Maddocks.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT

Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: 
Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)

FIXTURES

Nov 04-05: v Western Australia XI, Perth
Nov 08-11: v Cricket Australia XI, Adelaide
Nov 15-18 v Cricket Australia XI, Townsville (d/n)
Nov 23-27: 1ST TEST v AUSTRALIA, Brisbane
Dec 02-06: 2ND TEST v AUSTRALIA, Adelaide (d/n)
Dec 09-10: v Cricket Australia XI, Perth
Dec 14-18: 3RD TEST v AUSTRALIA, Perth
Dec 26-30 4TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Melbourne
Jan 04-08: 5TH TEST v AUSTRALIA, Sydney

Note: d/n = day/night

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F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Manchester City (0) v Liverpool (3)

Uefa Champions League, quarter-final, second leg

Where: Etihad Stadium
When: Tuesday, 10.45pm
Live on beIN Sports HD

Company%20profile
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Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

Company%C2%A0profile
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Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale

Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni

Director: Amith Krishnan

Rating: 3.5/5

Some of Darwish's last words

"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008

His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.

Pharaoh's curse

British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.

'Brazen'

Director: Monika Mitchell

Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler

Rating: 3/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

How to turn your property into a holiday home
  1. Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
  2. Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
  3. Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
  4. Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
  5. Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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Updated: June 25, 2025, 12:07 PM`