When Irrfan Khan turned down a Steven Spielberg film starring Scarlett Johansson as he didn't find it 'interesting'

Irrfan Khan died in 2020 after fighting a two-year battle with a neuroendocrine tumour. The actor worked in several big Hollywood projects, ranging from Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi to Jurassic World.

Late actor Irrfan Khan once denied a role in celebrated Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg film, which would have seen him co-star with Scarlett Johansson He revealed these details in an interaction several years ago. Irrfan died on April 29, 2020 after fighting a two-year battle with a neuroendocrine tumour.

Irrfan Khan died on April 29, 2020.

As per reports in 2016, Irrfan had rejected a film by Steven Spielberg, which also featured Scarlett Johansson. The actor himself admitted that he had said no to the film because he didn't feel the role had any ‘scope’ for him.

Speaking to NDTV back then, he had said, “I didn't feel the character offered to me gave me much scope. So I said 'No'; though Scarlett Johansson is an actor I would have loved to share screen space with.”

Later that year, in an interview with Hindustan Times, Irrfan clarified, “Saying that I said a ‘no’ to a certain filmmaker is very crude and a very uncouth way of understanding or portraying things,” he said.

As per the report, from Spielberg, other big names whose films Irrfan has turned down include Ridley Scott as well. He also turned down Christopher Nolan’s masterpiece Interstellar which was released in 2014. “I don’t take pride in such things (saying no) and it’s a dream to work with someone like Steven Spielberg. I think that more than anything else, I am disappointed that I could not work with him. But, if I don’t find something interesting for myself, something that inspires me I don’t think I will be the right choice to do it,” he added.

Irrfan married his National School of Drama friend Sutapa Sikdar in 1995 and the two have two sons: Babil and Ayan. After appearing in several television shows, the actor made his screen debut in the Academy Award nominated 1988 film, Salaam Bombay!, directed by Mira Nair. Irrfan's last film was Angrezi Medium, which released just a few weeks before his death in April 2020.