20 Actors Who Fought Hard But Were Turned Down For Iconic Roles — Can You Imagine Them Playing These Parts?
The old saying "If you don't succeed, try, try again" has never been more true than in the world of Hollywood and the entertainment industry. Actors have to fight tooth and nail for parts they want, sometimes going above and beyond to gain the attention of the director... only to be turned down in the end.
Actresses such as Sean Young went so far as to show up on the Warner Bros. lot in a full-on Catwoman costume, only to be turned away. And Eddie Redmayne couldn't bring anything new to the table when he tried to join the Star Wars franchise. Of course, these two aren't alone...
Noooo One Sings Like Gaston (At Least Idris Elba Doesn't)
Before Luke Evans was cast as the villainous Gaston, actor Idris Elba decided to do something a bit drastic for the part. According to an interview with People, Elba actually called the director, told him he "wanted in," and sang into the phone!
Elba said, "I honestly love musicals. I auditioned for Beauty and the Beast. I really did, for Gaston. I called and said, 'Listen, I want in!' So somewhere they have a tape of me singing." If that's not a commitment to a character, then we don't know what is!
Tiffani Thiessen Was Too Young To Be A Friend
It's hard to imagine anyone other than Jennifer Aniston playing Rachel Green in the hit sitcom Friends. However, Saved by the Bell graduate Tiffani Thiessen almost landed herself the role. Thiessen went so far in the casting process that she even read lines with the rest of the "friends."
Just coming off six years of a high school sitcom, Thiessen tried every trick in an attempt to land the role, but to no avail. During an interview, the actress recalled why she didn't land the part of Rachel, saying, "I was a little too young to the pairing of the rest of them."
Mindy Kaling Practiced A Lot For A Role In Bridesmaids
Due to her very niche acting style, Mindy Kaling rarely gets called upon for auditions. But there was one role that she worked hard to land, Lillian in the comedy Bridesmaids. According to the actress, she really wanted to win the role, which eventually went to Maya Rudolph.
During an interview with Bravo's Watch What Happens Live Sunday, she said, "I practiced it so much and was so into it, and I loved that whole cast. That was one that was a heartbreaker." Can you imagine Kaling yelling at Kristen Wiig that she's not allowed to have a puppy? It could have worked out!
Robert Pattinson Pretended He Wasn't From England
After he was the sparkling vampire Edward in Twilight, Robert Pattinson decided to go another, more action-based route. According to Pattinson, he was very interested in playing Shia LaBeouf's sidekick in the second Transformers film. The only issue was that he took a very strange approach to his audition, almost losing his agent in the process!
During an interview, Pattinson said, "I was doing an audition for Transformers 2, right after Twilight had come out and I went in as some guy from Denver. And they called my agent and were like, 'What's wrong with him? Why was he doing an improv? A really boring improv?’"
Bradley Cooper Went Full-On Batman For Green Lantern
Before Ryan Reynolds was regretting getting the role of Hal Jordan in Green Lantern, Bradley Cooper was trying his hardest to land the character. Unfortunately, he went a little too superhero with his audition, channeling a full-on deep Christian-Bale-as-Batman accent that didn't exactly fit.
During an interview with Conan O'Brien, Cooper said, "I put a mask on, and the director was like, 'Okay Bradley, be regular and talk.' And I was like, 'Yeah, got it... [in a deep, gravelly Batman voice] listen, Sally, we're going to have to take your family away if you don't listen to me!'" Apparently, the reel looked more like an SNL sketch.
Ron Perlman Tried To Brag His Way Into The Deadpool 2 Cast
During casting for the highly-anticipated Deadpool 2 film, there was a fan favorite to play Cable, Ron Perlman. Fans were actually lobbying pretty hard for Perlman's involvement in the film, and the actor was all for it, pretty keen on the role that he looked like so much.
Because of the actor and comic book character's uncanny resemblance to one another, Perlman even boasted on X that Cable should want to play him! His post said, "Actually, now that I think about it, #Cable should be wanting to play ME!" Alas, the bragging did not land him the part.
Tommy Wiseau Sent In A Tape For The Joker
Before Tommy Wiseau found unintentional fame with his dark and bizarre film The Room, he auditioned for the role that landed Heath Ledger an Oscar, The Joker in The Dark Knight. And while Wiseau's audition wasn't as crazy as some of the others on this list, (he sent in a tape), a short film that he appeared in was a different story entirely.
Wiseau agreed to be part of a short film made by The Nerdist. Alongside The Room co-star Greg Sestero, the two recreated the famous interrogation scene between Ledger's Joker and Christian Bale's Batman. Let's just say that the four-minute clip explains why he didn't get the part.
Jake Gyllenhaal Was A Low-Budget Spider-Man 3 Replacement
When negotiations for Spider-Man 3 were happening, there was serious talk about replacing the main guy himself, Toby Maguire. According to one of his representatives, he was demanding more money due to injuries he sustained during the first two films. There was serious doubt that he was going to return.
Little did Maguire know, but the studio had already lined up his replacement for a lower price than he was asking, a fairly unknown actor by the name of Jake Gyllenhaal. The actor was more than willing to take the price cut for the opportunity! Obviously, agreements were made, and we got to see emo-Spidey in all his glory.
Millie Bobby Brown Felt Like An Actor Trying To Act For Logan
Once upon a time, Stranger Things' Millie Bobby Brown auditioned for the role of Laura Kinney, aka X-23, in Logan, opposite Hugh Jackman. According to the actress, she fully immersed herself in the source material, learning everything she could about the part.
But when it came time to show director James Mangold what she was made of, Brown felt like an actor, and not in a good way. During an interview with Variety, she said, "I was like, 'It's going to be amazing; I'm going to really prepare.' I felt [like] an actor, in the audition room, hitting Hugh Jackman, and James Mangold sitting right in front of me."
Scarlett Johansson Dreamed A Dream To Play Fantine
Considering Anne Hathaway won an Oscar for her role as Fantine in Les Mis, it's hard to imagine Black Widow taking on the role and the song "I Dream a Dream." Alas, Scarlett Johansson went all-out, wanting to land the character in a bad way. Unfortunately, she got sick.
During an interview with Broadway.com, Johansson said, "I sang my little heart out and ultimately got a serious bout of laryngitis. Looking at the film now, there's no possible way I ever could have topped that performance." That's what we like to see, women supporting women and the amazing feats they accomplish during their careers!
Ephraim Benton Started A Social Media Campaign
Actor Ephraim Benton went through extraordinary lengths to land the role of Easy E in the N.W.A. biopic Straight Out of Compton. When director F. Gary Gray announced an open casting call for the lead roles, Benton decided to do something else entirely.
He called news outlets, saying he was starting multiple social media campaigns to help him land the role of Eazy E. Benton. He said, "I thought I would better my chances if those responsible for the movie saw the effort, passion, and sincerity I put forth as an actor." Obviously, it didn't exactly work out as he planned.
Josh Hutcherson Made Quite The Spidey Audition Tape
Once it was announced that Toby Maguire was stepping down from his role of Spiderman, none other than a pre-Hunger Games Josh Hutcherson stepped in, auditioning for the famous character. He was a serious player for the role, sending in a tape that had him performing some very Spidey-type action moves.
It was designed to turn heads at Sony but, instead, it turned the heads of many Youtube users. Hutcherson didn't get the role he was looking for, but his demo reel sure went viral! Even after Andrew Garfield departed from the role, Hutcherson threw his hat back in the ring. He was denied again.
Sean Young Turned Up In A Catwoman Costume
Actress Sean Young was actually cast as Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman. Unfortunately, she broke her arm during filming and was replaced by Kim Basinger. Being replaced didn't stop Young, though, and she lobbied to be Catwoman in Tim Burton's next Batman film, Batman Returns.
She even went so far as to show up on the Warner Bros. set dressed as Catwoman, hoping to prove her worth to Burton. According to Young, her plan didn't go as expected. During an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, she said, "If these Warner Bros. executives now were really good businessmen, they'd let me play Catwoman today, and I’d make a smash amount of money.
Chris Klein Name-Dropped And Sang Off-Key For A Musical
American Pie alum Chris Klein did one too many things wrong for his Mama Mia audition. Going for the role of Sky Rymand, Klein was, at first, a very serious contender, until he walked into the audition room. There, he took the auditioning handbook and threw it out the window.
As all good things do, his audion tape eventually leaked on Youtube, becoming viral gold. It showed a very nervous-looking Klein attempting to win over the director. He name-drops working with Mandy Moore, for reasons unknown, and then starts horribly singing! During an interview with E Online, he said, "I can't sing! I don't know why I was in there."
Riz Ahmed Got In The Slumdog Millionaire Director's Face
For actor Riz Ahmed, we're not sure if he ever learned the phrase "less is more." Please, let us explain. For his Slumdog Millionaire audition, Ahmed was keen on landing the role of Jamal Malik. Unfortunately, he didn't get it, but director Danny Boyle asked him to read for the tough older brother, Salim.
That's where things get messy. During an interview with Variety, Ahmed said, "He goes, 'action!,' and before you know it, I've got Danny Boyle up against the wall, I'm, like, screaming in his face, spitting in his face, and I've ripped his shirt." He did not wind up landing the role.
January Jones Couldn't Get Down Like A True Coyote
In her second-ever audition, January Jones tried for the "classic" film Coyote Ugly. And while she was supposed to be this super cool and confident woman, Jones' audition was more on the lines of ugly. She's even called the audition "one of the worst moments in my entire life," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It all had to do with her dancing. During the interview, Jones said, "Jerry Bruckheimer wanted me to come in and dance on top of the table. They said, 'You're going to pole dance, but there is no pole.' And I just turned beet red."
Robin Williams Would've Played Anyone To Be In A Batman Flick
Three times, comedian Robin Williams was turned down for a role in a Batman movie. First, The Joker in Batman, then the Riddler in Batman Returns, a role he had until Tim Burton was replaced by Joel Schumacher, and, lastly, the Joker in The Dark Knight.
Williams was dead set on being part of the Batman franchise, so he went so far as to call up Christopher Nolan, saying he'd be willing to play pretty much anyone in his final film. Williams left a voicemail, saying, "Chris, call me, I'll do anything. I could be a great character — or some weird little man in the background in Arkham Asylum."
Nicole Scherzinger Worked Out Every Day For Baywatch
Pussycat Dolls frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger went through great lengths to ensure a spot in the Baywatch cast alongside Zac Efron and The Rock. But instead of cramming as much source material into her head, Scherzinger went with a different approach to the role: working out.
During an interview with Glamour, she said, "I started this year working out every day, motivated to get ... in shape because I was determined I was gonna be the new Baywatch girl. I was devastated [when I didn't get the part]. What is my year, what is my life, if I'm not in Baywatch?!"
Tom Hiddleston Was Convinced The Director Would Give Him The Part Of Thor
Having just moved to Hollywood, Tom Hiddleston was a bit desperate to find work. So, when it came out that director Kenneth Branagh was looking for the title character for Thor, Hiddleston thought he was a shoo-in. Hiddleston had worked with Branagh before and thought he could convince the director to give him the role.
During an interview with The Huffington Post, Hiddleston said, "[Feige] was like, 'This is the Loki audition, right?' And then Ken Branagh went, 'No, this is a Thor audition,' and he went, 'Oh, okay. I guess we could try it.'"
Adrien Brody Actively Pursued The Role Of Nolan's Joker
Academy Award-winning actor Adrien Brody was very keen on winning over Christopher Nolan and land the role of the Joker in The Dark Knight. Honestly, it seems like a bit of a trend with a few of the actors on this list. Anyway, Brody obviously lost out on the role to Heath Ledger. But that didn't stop him from trying to persuade the director.
Reports claim that Brody met with Nolan in an attempt to win him over and land the role of the Joker. And, considering what Brody does for other parts, we imagine he went all-out for this "meeting."
