The character Archie Bunker in All In The Family was originally offered to Mickey Rooney, who declined. Carroll O’Connor lived in Europe, and accepted the role only because he thought the show would fail and he could go home, so much so that part of his contract with Norman Lear included a return plane ticket to Rome so that he could fly back when it failed
For those that are curious, the incomparable Matt Baume has some great videos on YouTube about the series and about Lear. I’m not American, I have no nostalgia for this series and have never seen it, and I still found it fascinating