Russell Crowe Denies Story of Disastrous ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding’ Audition: ‘Pure Imagination’

Christian Zilko
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Russell Crowe wants you to know he did not bomb his audition for “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” In fact, the actor claims it never even happened.

Crowe’s name ended up in the headlines earlier this year when an excerpt from Scott Meslow’s book “From Hollywood with Love” was published in Vulture. The passage featured “My Best Friend’s Wedding” director P.J. Hogan describing his attempt to cast Crowe in the 1997 romantic comedy. Crowe was apparently the director’s first choice, but star Julia Roberts had veto power over casting decisions. So, per the excerpt, Crowe was brought in for a table read with Roberts, and Hogan claims it went so poorly that the role ultimately went to Dermot Mulroney.

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“It was one of the worst table reads I’ve ever experienced,” Hogan wrote. “Russell was seated opposite Julia. He gripped that script, and he stared at that script, and he didn’t look at her once. He read every line in a monotone. At one point, Julia was literally leaning over the table, staring, like, inches from Russell’s face, trying to make eye contact. And he wouldn’t look at her. At the end of the reading, Russell came up to me and said, ‘I thought that went pretty well.’ And then I knew: Russell was not going to be in ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.'”

Crowe recalls things quite differently. The actor took to Twitter on Friday morning to dispute all of Hogan’s claims. Crowe claims that the audition never happened, as he said he did not read for “My Best Friend’s Wedding” and that he has never done a table read of any kind with Julia Roberts.

“Pure imagination on behalf of this director,” Crowe wrote. “I did not audition for this film. I have never done a table read with the actress mentioned. Would be funny if it wasn’t so pointless.”

Crowe can currently be seen in Peter Farrelly’s “The Greatest Beer Run Ever,” and his sophomore directorial outing, “Poker Face,” is set to be released later this year. Roberts is set to return to the rom-com genre with this month’s “Ticket to Paradise,” which she stars in opposite George Clooney.

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