Paul Newman was offered any role in the 1976 film *Network* by writer Paddy Chayefsky, but declined the project. The article highlights how that decision left the part of television presenter Howard Beale open for Peter Finch, whose performance became one of cinema’s most celebrated and won an Academy Award after his death.

Chayefsky had reportedly considered several established actors for Beale before Finch secured an audition shortly before filming. *Network*, directed by Sidney Lumet, also won Oscars for Faye Dunaway, Beatrice Straight and Chayefsky’s screenplay, and remains noted for its critique of television, corporate power and sensationalism.