The fascinating action film that ranked among the top ten highest-grossing films of 2005 earning north of $186 million aka Mr. & Mrs. Smith was the definitive marker of a bestselling Hollywood project. With a finely tuned script that delivered as much action as it did the high-stakes yet comedic rivalry, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie not only conquered the box office but went on to become one of the most celebrated Hollywood couples in the decade to come.
As the year brings with it a new chapter at the center of the Brangelina drama, rumors unfold about the film that started it all and how the lives of four separate Hollywood celebrities were tangled up in its aftermath.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
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Nicole Kidman Almost Landed Mr. & Mrs. Smith Project
No matter the attention that has been driven toward the duo who has been reverently termed Brangelina, no one can forget the once glamorous celebrity power couple of the 90s — Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. The Pitt-Aniston romance that captivated fans across generations broke off in the aftermath of the 2005 film as the Fight Club actor found a new love in his onscreen partner, Angelina Jolie.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
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But, unknown to popular knowledge, it was the Australian star, Nicole Kidman who was set to take up the role of Mrs. Smith originally — an action that could have averted the entire string of events that followed since. At the time, however, the Eyes Wide Shut actress was busy filming Stepford Wives, the Frank Oz-helmed sci-fi black comedy. The scheduling conflict between the two movies then witnessed the departure of Kidman and the replacement of the role of Jane Smith with Angelina Jolie.
The Aftereffects of Angelina Jolie’s Arrival as Jane Smith
Released in June 2005, the spy action thriller film pitted Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as rival assassins each tasked with killing the other. But as the audience steps into the film, it is to witness an outwardly perfect married couple struggling to keep their marriage afloat. Soon enough, as the two realize each other’s true identities, a comedy of errors takes over and the pair shifts from taking out each other to turning against their respective agencies, seemingly going out in a daring all-in Bonnie and Clyde fashion.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr. & Mrs. Smith
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The onscreen chemistry that was presented by the two leads was perhaps the sole factor that still makes Mr. & Mrs. Smith one of the most rewatchable action flicks of Hollywood. But Angelina Jolie’s arrival in the film and its ripple effect is what endures in the audience’s collective memory. Even though the Pitt-Jolie chemistry filtered out of the screens and into their lives, Jennifer Aniston was left behind as the woman spurned in the aftermath of the 2005 hit. The late 90s power couple featuring Aniston and Pitt soon metamorphosed into a 2000s power couple featuring Jolie and Pitt. The 12-year-long relationship that lived between the latter duo was one of the most watched, scrutinized, publicized, and scandalized Hollywood romances.
Still, in the midst of their legal battle and a building post-divorce scandal, the Brangelina drama seethes in the memory of those faithful to the 90s Pitt-Aniston duo and in light of the new details about Nicole Kidman’s involvement in the early stages of Mr. & Mrs. Smith‘s production, one can only imagine where the tide would have taken the four celebrities intertwined in the aftermath of the 2005 film if Kidman had indeed not passed on the role.
