Chevy Chase Had The Opportunity To Be Indiana Jones, Forrest Gump, And Santa Claus
How do you solve a problem like Chevy Chase? Throughout his lengthy career, the actor has had a long, troubled history of acting like a jerk to nearly everyone he's worked with, from the infamous backstage fight he had with Bill Murray upon leaving Saturday Night Live (during which Murray deployed the perfectly pithy insult, "Medium talent!") to his much-publicized feud with showrunner Dan Harmon while co-starring on the beloved NBC sitcom "Community." By many accounts, the star is, at best, annoying to work with, and, at worst, an insufferable jerk.
That behavior would seem to be the end-all, be-all explanation for why Chase's film career eventually floundered despite having a pretty strong start. Yet, like most things, that isn't the whole story: for one, Chase is an incredibly talented actor and comedian, despite his personal shortcomings. For another, his persona being what it is — this is the man who made a splash announcing himself on SNL as "I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not" — perhaps caused audiences to see Chase almost solely as that sort of abrasive person, with even his cuddliest character, the "Vacation" films' Clark Griswold, containing elements of the actor's aggression.
The most likely explanation, however, is that Chase (whether through his arrogance, foolishness, or short-sightedness) shot himself in the proverbial foot one too many times. As this piece from Vulture chronicles, the actor had numerous opportunities to land big roles in what ended up being huge films, and for the most part, he was the one to turn them down.
Missing out on two of the biggest movies of all time
Although looking back on Chevy Chase's career would tempt many to claim that he didn't make any huge missteps until the late '80s and '90s, Chase's history of missing out on huge roles began fairly early on. As the article by Bradford Evans details, Chase turned down the opportunity to lead the ensemble cast of the massively successful and influential comedy "National Lampoon's Animal House." Heck, the part he was up for — Eric "Otter" Stratton, eventually played by Tim Matheson — was even written for him, as part of a failed plan by the "Lampoon" writers to capitalize on SNL's success and cast Chase, Murray, and Dan Aykroyd in the leading roles of the film.
To be fair, though, this goof wasn't entirely Chase's fault. Director John Landis, having his own vision for the movie (and one that it's hard to argue with, given what the movie became), didn't want Chase in the part, and convinced him not to take it. Chase's film career wasn't badly hurt by this decision, but there's no question that starring in "Animal House" would've likely given him a huge boost.
While Otter would've been a natural fit for Chase's suave-meets-goofy persona, some casting directors evidently thought Chase may have been able to parlay that vibe into a more dramatic space. In retrospect, that notion seems to have been a fallacy; any time Chase has played a role that approaches something more dramatic (as in William Friedkin's "Deal of the Century" and John Carpenter's "Memoirs of an Invisible Man"), his offbeat goofiness can always be seen. Which is why it's probably for the best that he didn't come close to landing the role of Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and passed on the title character of "Forrest Gump," as both roles require an earnestness that Chase either doesn't possess or doesn't easily play.
Chase could've gone to infinity ... and beyond
While Chase turned down (or didn't land) a bunch of other successful projects, most of these probably wouldn't have worked with him in the part (as with "American Gigolo" and "The Fabulous Baker Boys") or could've worked but might have not had the impact they ended up having (as with "Splash" and "The Player").
However, two roles in family-friendly '90s classics came Chase's way that the actor would've been perfect for: Scott Calvin a.k.a. Santa Claus in "The Santa Clause" and Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story." In the case of "The Santa Clause," Chase had to pass due to a scheduling conflict, and in the case of "Toy Story," Chase apparently once again couldn't see the potential of the film and passed on it. In both instances, the roles went to "Home Improvement" star Tim Allen, who brought a more blue-collar everyman quality to the roles in place of Chase's usual upper-middle-class smarm.
Chase eventually made it through the '90s and the roughest period of his career (one which came in the wake of the infamously disastrous "The Chevy Chase Show"), having a minor resurgence around the time of the success of "Community" and cropping up in bit parts in well-received films like "Hot Tub Time Machine" and "The Last Movie Star." Yet he certainly never reclaimed the A-list glory he'd enjoyed during the 1980s. Although this is a fate that befalls too many artists to name, in Chase's case, one can't help but have the feeling that had the actor been a little savvier (not to mention a little nicer), he could still be a bankable leading man today.