The ones that got away- films Steven Berkoff turned down or missed.

Blue Velvet from 1986, directed by David Lynch.  Steven Berkoff was first choice for Frank Booth.  When he rejected it the role went to Dennis Hopper.  Berkoff says "I regrettably turned down the role of Frank Booth in ‘Blue Velvet’ when I didn’t care for some of the grosser moments. These were in fact cut when Dennis Hopper did it" (Berkoff interviewed by Kyle Gaffney, Clapper online, no date, click here).

The Shining by Stanley Kubrick from 1980.  "I didn’t hear from Kubrick for some years, until he started shooting The Shining, when he called me out of the blue. He asked me if any of my actors could be extras in a special dream sequence in the film where time has changed and gone back to the ’20s, and Stanley would much prefer to use actors rather than extras. I relayed this to the actors in my company and they were all very excited to be in a Kubrick film, even as background, but when I asked Kubrick what the fee would be for the week, I was shocked at how low it was. It was so low that no matter how keen the actors were, they felt like they were being exploited and turned the offer down. I went back to Kubrick and pleaded with him to increase the offer, even by a small amount, but to my great surprise he would not raise it a penny. Did he think that actors were out to exploit him? Such a shame, and then I didn’t hear from him again for some time, which is not unusual since it takes him years to make up his mind about a project." (Steven Berkoff, Shouting At Night, 2026).

Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick from 1999.  Steven Berkoff wanted to appear in a Kubrick film again, having previously appeared in A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon.  "'Stanley really wants you' Leon [Vitali, Kubrick's assistant] said. 'OKay, I'd love to see Stanley again.' I didn't get the job since he found another actor for the role, a Russian who had been making a name for himself.  The next thing I knew Stanley was dead" (Steven Berkoff, Tough Acts, 2003, chapter 4 page 33).

Zeppelin directed by Etienne Périer in 1971 and starring Michael York as a British spy seeking the secrets of the new German zeppelin.  Steven Berkoff appears in pre-release publicity (below, playing York's cousin Emerich) but the scene has been dropped from the film and Berkoff is not named in the credits.

Photo from Films and Filming, May 1971.

Neutron 1980-1983.  "Following the success of his film adaption of The Tempest (1979), Derek Jarman began developing Neutron, an apocalyptic science fiction film, with the writer and actor Lee Drysdale. The pair cast Bowie and Steven Berkoff in the lead roles, set against the backdrop of Battersea Power Station in London and the area around the Berlin Wall in Germany. Created as a response to the 1980s political climate of Thatcherism and threats of nuclear war, Neutron explores an apocalyptic nightmare and broken society... Sadly, the collaboration was not realised and Jarman passed away in 1994. In the David Bowie Archive, there are multiple versions of scripts alongside correspondence, drawings and Bowie’s handwritten notes. Throughout, Bowie is frequently regarded as a collaborator on the project".

Information from Holly Stepp, Victoria and Albert Museum Archivist, 2 October 2026, click here.

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