In addition to difficulty getting insurance coverage for the actress, the producers of Inferno were unable to wait any longer for Mean Girl star, Lindsay Lohan, 24, to work through her legal struggles and complete rehab, reports People.
"Lindsay had scheduling issues due to legal obligations and is continuing to focus on getting better in rehabilitation in Palm Springs, and she really had to focus on that in our opinion – and hers," says the film’s producer, Chris Hanley. "For herself and her career in general it was really her decision to just focus on getting better psychologically."
Enter Malin Akerman (Watchmen, Couples Retreat), 32, chosen to replace Lohan as 1970s porn star, Linda Lovelace, in the biopic Inferno.
"Malin was passionate to take this challenge of the role to task," says Hanley, "and we feel she has the talent to meet that challenge."
This year, Malin Akerman stars in action drama Catch .44 with Bruce Willis, and thriller Criminal Empire for Dummies with Chris Evans and Gary Oldman. She was recently announced as a co-star in the comedy Wanderlust, with Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, due out next October 7, 2011.