Will Ferrell is undoubtedly one of the most popular stars in Hollywood today. He has been in SNL, and then he went on to start a successful film career.

His most iconic films include Anchorman, Elf, Stepbrothers, and Zoolander. Despite being in many great films, he missed out on more than a few roles that would have done his reputation as an actor a lot of good.

Here are some of the high-profile film roles Ferrell has turned down.

1. Get Smart's Max Smart

Get Smart was one of the most popular comedies from the '60s, and it featured agent Max Smart. When plans were made to turn the series into a film, Will Ferrell was the top choice after Jim Carrey dropped out.

When the offer was given to Ferrell, he was too busy with other projects, and the role fell to Steve Carell, his Anchorman co-star.

2. Hot Rod's Rod Kimble

Andy Samberg was not meant to star in Hot Rod. The script was written with Will Ferrell in mind.

At the time the film was made, Ferrell was in SNL. The initial script did not make it through, but the film project was revived with Samberg in the lead role.

3. August Blowout's Jeff Tanner

Before Ferrell and film director Adam McKay could create the iconic Anchorman, they worked on August Blowout. The project never saw the light of day, and Ferrell would have starred in the film as Jeff Tanner, a character who loved Top Gun.

4. The Watch's Evan Trautwig

The Watch was meant to be a family-friendly PG-13 movie such as Ghostbusters from the very start. Will Ferrell was supposed to act as Evan Trautwig, but he dropped out of the project after the film was turned into an R-rated movie.

5. Confederacy Of Dunces' Ignatius J. Reilly

There were numerous attempts to turn A Confederacy of Dunces into a film adaptation. The first attempt was taken in 1982 with John Belushi in mind, but he died overdosed.

Another attempt was made in 2007. Later, Will Ferrell was to take on the role of Ignatius J. Reilly, but to this day, that has never happened.

6. The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty's Walter Mitty

The plan to make this film had failed many times, and Will Ferrell was just one of many actors who could have played the role of Walter Mitty before Ben Stiller eventually directed and starred in the film.

Other directors, including Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard, had also tried to take on the project without success.

7. Rock Of Ages' Dennis Dupree

In Rock of Ages, Alec Baldwin plays the role of Dennis Dupree. That was not the initial plan.

Will Ferrell was offered the role, as well as Steve Carell, but both turned down the offer.

The film had other Hollywood heavyweights, including Tom Cruise, Brian Cranston, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Still, it seems like Ferrell was on to something because the film ended up disappointing critics and audiences.

Its performance at the box office also left a lot to be desired.