Little-Known Facts About Casting

Director Barry Sonnenfeld originally didn't want to cast Tommy Lee Jones as Agent K due to the actor's reputation for being a bit difficult to work with. Sonnenfeld once confessed that after seeing Jones give an interview, he told his wife, "Thank God, as long as I live I will never, ever have to work with that jerk." Funnily enough, the two ended up working very well together.
Before Jones, Western icon Clint Eastwood was reportedly offered the part of Agent K, though he turned it down.
Chris O'Donnell was executive producer Steven Spielberg's top choice to play Agent J, but Sonnenfeld eventually persuaded him that Will Smith would be a better fit for the role (and questionably dissuaded O'Donnell from accepting).
Friends alum David Schwimmer also turned down the role of Agent J due to a film he was directing at the time with the cast of his Chicago theatre company.