Which Academy Award-winning actor wanted to play Mario in the live-action adaption of the game?

The list of actors who have played Mario, everyone’s favorite plumber turned Princess-rescuer, is quite small. Frankly, it should have started and ended with Captain Lou Albano, but that’s not up to us.

Looking back on the live-action movie from 1993, it’s easy to wonder why anyone would have wanted to be involved in pretty much any form. But that’s the benefit of hindsight. At the time, getting a role in the movie adaptation was apparently coveted. 

In fact, one very successful, Oscar-winning actor lobbied to get the role of Mario — I guess it was so coveted that even an Academy Award wasn’t enough to sway producers. Who wanted to play the plumber in the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros.?

Click START to answer.