Oscar and Emmy winner Kathy Bates nearly passed on the movie Waterboy—and she was so unimpressed that she actually threw the script away. Her reason: she had no idea who Adam Sandler was. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bates also revealed she almost rejected her role in the TV series Matlock, thinking it was just another procedural crime drama. The takeaway: even celebrated actors can miss transformative career opportunities when they don't recognize the talent or the potential in front of them.

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