15 Super-Awkward Times Actors Put Themselves ALL THE WAY OUT THERE For A Role And Didn't Get It
When most actors hear about a role they really want, they might ask their agent to make a few calls, but mainly they just sit back and hope to be invited to audition. But some stars...well, some stars want a role so badly, they're willing to go above and beyond — even risking public humiliation — to get it!
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Here are 15 stars who reallyyyy put themselves out there for a role...though it didn't quite pan out for them in the end.
1.When the live-action version of The Little Mermaid was announced, one star quickly launched a social media campaign to get the role of Ursula: none other than Lizzo. She even posted a video of herself (in FULL Ursula makeup) singing "Poor Unfortunate Souls," writing, "I'M URSULA. PERIOD." and tagging Disney.
Lizzo's unorthodox methods did nab her an audition for the role — and she said that it went well and her singing was great — but the part ended up going to Melissa McCarthy, despite Lizzo's best efforts. To be fair, Lizzo had very little acting experience in comparison with the Oscar-nominated McCarthy.
Watch Lizzo's Twitter clip here.
I’M URSULA. PERIOD. @Disney
2.Lizzo wasn't the only star who turned to social media to try to land a role in The Little Mermaid. After Chloë Grace Moretz dropped out of the live-action version as Ariel all the way back in 2015, Lindsay Lohan posted an Instagram featuring a side-by-side photo of herself and Ariel, and tagged it, “I will sing again, as #ariel #thelittlemermaid [if] @Disney approve that #billcondon directs it.” She then decided to make things a little less over-the-top and switched the caption to just "#thelittlemermaid." She later told Variety it was her favorite film and said she hoped Disney would reach out, saying she would "harass [her] agent" about it.
When Lea Michele was cast in a live concert experience of the musical, Lohan was unhappy, commenting, "Huh?" Clearly, Lohan was feeling a *bit* possessive of the iconic redhead, though Michele's singing skills are obvious.
In a filmed live version, Auli'I Cravalho took on the role, though Lohan had no comment about that.
Chloe Bailey was eventually cast in the live-action version of the animated film — dashing Lohan's dreams of playing the famous redhead. There have been crickets from her on this front — maybe Lohan has finally realized that Ariel is supposed to be 16.
3.In yet another Disney example, Michael Jackson REALLY wanted to star as Peter Pan, one of his favorite stories. (How much did he love Peter Pan? He even named his home Neverland Ranch.) In fact, he went hard after Steven Spielberg about appearing in Hook and was considered for the role in veryyyy early stages.
However, as the movie transitioned away from being a musical, Spielberg decided to go in a different direction, and the role went to Robin Williams.
Spielberg said Jackson understood (and reports even initially suggested that he left the film), but reports also indicate Jackson was allegedly so upset that he paid $150,000 to curse Spielberg. I guess he REALLY wanted that role.
4.Speaking of Robin Williams — the star desperately wanted to portray Hagrid in the Harry Potter series. He actually personally placed a phone call to Chris Columbus, who was directing the first film, to request an audition. However, producers had a rule: Only Irish and English actors would be considered. And they refused to break it — even for Robin Williams.
The role went to Robbie Coltrane instead. But hey, lots of actors try for roles they don't get! Except...Williams wasn't done campaigning to be in the Harry Potter films.
A few years later, Williams reached out to Columbus yet again to play another character: Remus Lupin. However, the rule still stood, and Columbus had to say no. David Thewlis was cast instead. You gotta give Williams points for perseverance!
5.Another actor who wanted to be in a film so badly that they personally asked to audition was Idris Elba with Beauty and the Beast. In what may perhaps be surprising to hear, Elba was reallyyyy gunning for the Gaston role. He called producers and told them, "Listen, I want in!" because he "love[s] musicals." Apparently their reply, according to Elba, was, "'Ah, uh, ah, okay!'" and they now have a tape of Elba singing — which will likely never see the light of day, as Elba refused to re-create it for People magazine.
Elba does actually have a musical theater background — but he's a little too old for the role. Luke Evans nabbed it instead, to Elba's disappointment.
6.Even if you haven't seen Batman Returns, you've likely seen images of Michelle Pfeiffer in the iconic Catwoman costume. But there was another leading lady gunning for the role.
Sean Young had originally been cast as Vicki Vale in Batman before having to drop out due to an on-set injury. Disappointed at missing out on the film, Young tried to nab a role in the sequel — specifically, that of Catwoman — but was not invited to audition. So she leaked an audition tape to Entertainment Tonight and also went to Tim Burton's office to make her case...only for Burton to refuse to see her, and for her to be asked to leave.
After the incident gained news coverage, Young went on The Joan Rivers Show to tell her side of the story. Except she showed up in a Catwoman costume — which many saw as another desperate attempt to nab the role (though the truth was a bit more complicated). Not only did Young not get the role, but the negative reaction to her stunt adversely impacted her career, as some saw it as a little too desperate.
You can watch her full appearance here.
7.Sean Young isn't the only actor to have made a gamble by showing up in a homemade costume — Anthony Anderson did the same thing for an undisclosed movie role. He actually wasn't even up for a role — he crashed a friend's audition to show casting directors how well he and his friend worked together. Since the audition scene featured the character his friend was auditioning for and a female character, Anderson dressed up in "full drag — lipstick, dress, pumps, and everything."
Anderson was allowed to audition, and he felt that he nailed it — but he didn't get cast. His unnamed friend did not get the role either. Disappointing, but Anderson had to know this was a loooong shot.
8.Some actors want a role so badly, they even try to lie to get it. Take Michael B. Jordan, who really wanted to play Tupac Shakur in the biopic All Eyez on Me. When asked if he could rap, Jordan panicked and replied that he could — despite having no experience.
In a true example of "fuck around and find out," Jordan was then asked to demonstrate his rapping skills — and made up a rap on the spot. His overconfidence (coupled with his lack of skill) did him no favors, and he did not get the role — it went instead to Demetrius Shipp Jr.
9.Casey Affleck did almost the same thing when he auditioned for Inside Llewyn Davis — he was so desperate to be in the film that he lied and said he could sing.
In fact, it was emphasized that the character – Llewyn Davis himself — really had to be able to sing and play the guitar well. Affleck claimed he'd been doing both for years, and "spent a couple weeks killing [him]self to sing and play the guitar.” This bold lie and last-minute preparation did not pay off — Affleck says he was ghosted after his audition. Oscar Isaac went on to play the role instead.
10.Before Josh Hutcherson was cast as Peeta in The Hunger Games, he desperately wanted to play another iconic character: Spider-Man. In fact, he wanted the role so much that he produced an action-heavy stunt sequence as a video audition for the role. Complete with Peter Parker glasses, of course.
He even answered interview questions about rumors he'd appear in the role, sounding hopeful — but Andrew Garfield was cast in the role instead. He still seemed to hold a candle for the role years later when a third Spidey was cast for the MCU, but then-19-year-old Tom Holland was cast instead.
You can watch Josh's audition video here.
11.Another actor who filmed their own audition was Isaiah Mustafa, who not only created his own audition but actually cut it into a full trailer of himself as Marvel superhero Luke Cage back in 2011. Mustafa, then best known for his Old Spice commercials, called playing the character his life's dream.
The role ultimately went to Mike Colter, who portrayed the role not only on the show Luke Cage but also on other Marvel shows. Mustafa later said he approved of the decision but also hoped for a role on the series' next season. However, it looks as if he may be a bit embarrassed now that all the dust has settled — his audition trailer is now on private.
12.In one example that actually makes me pretty sad, Rajiv Surendra (whom you likely know as Kevin G from Mean Girls) desperately wanted to play Pi Patel in Life of Pi. “While we were shooting Mean Girls during my first year of college, I found out they were turning The Life of Pi into a film. I was determined to get that part. So I dropped out of college to go to the little town in India where the book takes place so that I could do some in-depth research." After a few months he returned home, to learn that the project was delayed.
The project stayed in development hell, changing directors multiple times — and each time, Surendra heavily researched the director. When, after six years, Suraj Sharma was cast in the role, Surendra said, "I felt like someone had died. Very slowly over the course of six years, I was building this boy that was a character in a book. By the end of those years, that was a real person inside of me. Those old Tamil songs I listened to as a kid, Pi would’ve listened to those songs." Imagine prepping for a role for six years and not getting it. :(
13.Tyrese Gibson has long wanted to play the role of Green Lantern — and it's still a dream of his. He's apparently even met with Warner Bros. to make his case. "I feel like there's a fanbase of fans out there waiting to see me put on this green suit and do my thing," Gibson said.
He's campaigned openly on social media since 2015 (so for eight years!!!), posting edits of himself in the role and stoking rumors that he'd already been cast.
Unfortunately, the character has not appeared in the DCEU since Ryan Reynolds's infamous appearance in the role in 2011 (though the character was originally set to appear in Justice League).
However, James Gunn has a series in the works at HBO Max — it had originally cast its stars, but after a shift to focus on a different Green Lantern, the cast is up in the air. I guess there's still a chance for Gibson here, but no recent word from him on the prospect.
14.Another actor who took things into their own hands was Danielle Chuchran, probably best known at the time for her role as Thing One in The Cat in the Hat. Chuchran really wanted to play Katniss in The Hunger Games, so in 2011, she appeared as Katniss alongside Savanna Kylie Lewis as Rue in a filmed scene from The Hunger Games (specifically, Rue's death scene), "in hopes that the actors would get a chance to audition for the film."
The clip went viral (though having Lewis, a white actor, play Rue garnered backlash), and Chuchran was reportedly actually able to audition to play Katniss. However, she only got through an initial audition, and Jennifer Lawrence ended up nabbing the role.
You can watch the scene they filmed here.
15.And lastly, here's a story of a star going too far for a role, with a twist. Ryan Gosling had actually been cast as Jack Salmon in The Lovely Bones. He felt strongly that the character — a grieving father — should be "210 pounds." So Gosling spent weeks drinking melted Häagen-Dazs ice cream until he had gained 60 pounds...and when he showed up to set, he discovered this wasn't the vision the director had in mind.
The role was recast, with Mark Wahlberg playing it instead. Gosling didn't seem too happy about having made such a huge physical change, only to get fired, but oh well — ya live and ya learn!
