They were going to get Lancaster to play Samson and Demetrius. Thank God Victor Mature played those parts and not Lancaster. I read on here under the Ben Hur trivia that Lancaster turned the role of Juduh Ben-Hur down because he was an atheist and did not want to promote Christianity. I guess he could've never played Demetrius, the Greek slave that becomes a Christian, or Samson, the hand of God. Burt Lancaster would've been terrible in those parts anyway.
I don't see how Lancaster would have been particularly bad in these roles unless you're annoyed because he was a non believer and Victor Mature wasn't.
Thank God