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According to a segment in the extras section of the Series 1 DVD, Jude Law was scheduled to appear in one of the episodes, after meeting Gervais backstage on the Late Show with David Letterman, but had to pull out due to film commitments.

This resulted in Gervais and Merchant having to scramble to find a replacement actor at the last minute, with Leonardo DiCaprio being considered.

A featurette on the first series DVD release, " Finding Leo ", consists of late-night video camera footage ( shot mostly by Merchant ) chronicling Gervais ' fruitless and ultimately unsuccessful attempts to contact DiCaprio's manager.

Law was ultimately replaced by Patrick Stewart in the series 1 finale, although a poster for the Jude Law film Alfie appeared at the end.

Other actors that did not appear in Extras despite initial reports from Gervais include Madonna, Brad Pitt, and Tom Cruise.