Robert Downey Jr. Thought He Was a ‘Shoo-In’ for ‘The Holiday,’ Then Kate Winslet Roasted Him: ‘That’s the Worst British Accent I’ve Ever Heard’
Robert Downey Jr. and Jimmy Fallon crashed a recent episode of “The Howard Stern Show” and revealed they auditioned together for Nancy Meyers’ 2006 romantic-comedy “The Holiday.” Downey read for the part later played by Jude Law, while Fallon auditioned for Jack Black’s role. Both actors knew they weren’t Meyers’ frontrunner picks at the time, and Downey was well aware Law was stiff competition.
“We both got called in just as seat fillers…[director Nancy Meyers] needed someone to read with the gals and we’re sitting there going, ‘It’s about to happen for us,’” Downey said, adding that he felt he was a “shoo-in” to steal the part away from Law. “And I was like, ‘I’ve got to have a better English accent than Jude Law at this point.’ And Winslet said, ‘That was the worst British accent I’ve ever heard.’ And I was like, ‘I’ll check out now, but I’m taking the gummy bears from the minibar.'”
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Winslet might’ve roasted Downey in the moment, but Fallon had nothing but praise for him. The late-night host remembered thinking at the time: “Without a doubt, this is the best actor I’ve ever sat across from and did a scene with in my entire life.”
“This was mind-blowing to me,” Fallon said now about reading scenes with Downey. “I quit the business. I never went back. That was the last time I auditioned for a role.”
Downey added, “Nancy said to me, said to both of us at the same time, ‘It’s great, it’s just not a perfect fit.'”
“The Holiday” stars Winslet and Cameron Diaz as two lovelorn women from opposite sides of the Atlantic who swap homes during the Christmas season. Diaz’s Amanda falls for Law’s book editor Graham, while Winslet’s Iris sparks a romance with Black’s film composer Miles. Law’s character is the brother of Iris.
Sony released “The Holiday” domestically in 2006 and the film was a box office hit with $63 million. At the worldwide box office, the romantic-comedy made it to the $205 million mark. The film earned favorable reviews, with Variety writing, “Nancy Meyers knows exactly what women want: gorgeous locales, even more gorgeous actors, a sentimental love story calculated to make viewers hug themselves and maybe even each other — and she doubles the formula to generally pleasing effect in ‘The Holiday,’ a lavishly overstuffed gift basket of a movie.”
Rumors popped up online last December that Meyers and Winslet were eyeing a sequel to “The Holiday,” but both women shut down such speculation.
“I read something about that, but it’s the first I’ve heard of it,” Winslet told People magazine. “I promise you not an agent or a representative or anyone from the first one around has had any conversation with me about that. Hand on heart, that’s never come up.”
“The Holiday” is now available to stream on Hulu with a Starz add-on.
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