- 6 weeks ago
Sometimes taking big risks in auditions can backfire spectacularly! Join us as we explore actors who went all-out during their auditions, only to crash and burn in the most memorable ways. From Bradley Cooper's Batman voice for Green Lantern to Sean Young's elaborate Catwoman scheme, these ambitious audition attempts became legendary for all the wrong reasons!
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00:00How dare you not make time to see THE Catwoman, not even so much as granting me a meeting.
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at actors who took big swings at auditions
00:11that didn't even remotely pay off.
00:14Let's go, shall we? Before I embarrass myself further.
00:18Number 10. Bradley Cooper, Green Lantern.
00:21Before joining the MCU as Rocket Raccoon, Bradley Cooper was among the top choices
00:25to play Hal Jordan in 2011's Green Lantern.
00:28At his audition, Cooper drew inspiration from Christian Bale's Batman.
00:32They put a mask on and the director's like, okay Bradley, so this time just be regular and talk.
00:35I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it. Listen, Sally.
00:38Just because both are DC superheroes doesn't mean they have anything in common.
00:42Yet for whatever reason, Cooper instinctively put on a raspy Batman voice,
00:47which some would argue was already pretty silly when Bale did it.
00:50Even when the director asked him to talk regularly, Cooper channeled the Caped Crusader.
00:54And I think at one point I was like, and then I gotta take it. I'm Batman.
00:58I mean, I'm Green Lantern. I'm sorry. Can we take that back?
01:02I actually said I'm Batman in the Green Lantern.
01:05And they're like, you're not getting this part.
01:07Cooper knew he wasn't getting the role, acknowledging that it wasn't even a good Batman impression.
01:12Considering how the film turned out, though, we bet Ryan Reynolds wishes he botched his audition, too.
01:17The ring chose you. It wouldn't have done so if it hadn't seen something in you.
01:21Oh, yeah?
01:22Something you yourself don't yet see. The ring never makes a mistake.
01:27This time it did.
01:29Number 9. Cole and Dylan Sprouse, The Cat in the Hat
01:32Between Big Daddy and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,
01:35the Sprouse twins nearly co-starred in the live-action Cat in the Hat movie.
01:38The brothers were considered for Thing 1 and Thing 2, the mischievous helpers that the cat lets loose.
01:44He says you may feel free to call him Thing A if you like.
01:48He will also accept Super Thing, Thing King, Kid Dunn, and My Chocolate Thunder.
01:52Or dead.
01:53They arrived at a dance studio, dressed for the roles.
01:56It wasn't enough to look like Thing 1 and Thing 2, however.
01:59The casting directors wanted to see just how wild they could be.
02:03The brothers showed them, breaking a mirror and finishing in a fistfight.
02:07Did you just flick flour in my face?
02:10Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't.
02:13In all fairness, the boys were only 7 years old, and they were told to go wild.
02:18So really, the casting director should have thought twice about their instructions.
02:21Regardless, the Sprouses were too wild, even for the cat.
02:25Come on, Thing, let's go.
02:27What's on my schedule for tomorrow?
02:30What do you say we go on vacation?
02:33How about Hawaii?
02:35Number 8. Josh Brolin, The Fly 2.
02:38Is there anything else you want me to do?
02:40Or if I can do it, you know, if that wasn't appropriate, there's another way we can deal with it.
02:45And they go, no.
02:47That was fine.
02:48That was great.
02:49Where David Cronenberg's The Fly is a body horror classic, few remember its trashy sequel.
02:55As such, Josh Brolin probably went harder at his audition than The Fly 2 deserved.
02:59Since the film is about a guy morphing into a bug, Brolin wanted to bring a sense of realism to his audition.
03:04I was on the ground, and I was frothing at the mouth, because he's in a chrysalis, he's in a cocoon.
03:10Like, what happens to one that's human, that's not used to something like morphing from one thing to another,
03:18one would imagine that it would be a painful process.
03:21Would one not?
03:21After leaving the audition, Brolin received a call from his agent, who asked what he had done.
03:27Brolin's agent didn't mince words in giving him insight on the casting team's impression.
03:31And I said, did I get it?
03:33And he's like, oh no.
03:36Like, they'll probably never see you again.
03:39And I was like, well, I still don't understand.
03:40To this day, I was like, don't you want somebody who commits?
03:42Eric Stoltz booked the gig, while Brolin eventually did another insect movie with Mimic.
03:47This is what I love about my job.
03:50I get to travel, see the world, meet new exotic cultures.
03:54Number 7.
03:55Eddie Redmayne.
03:56The Hobbit trilogy and Star Wars sequel trilogy.
03:59Years after a failed Tom Riddle audition, Eddie Redmayne finally joined the Wizarding World as Newt Scamander.
04:05Redmayne could have been part of two other major franchises if only his auditions hadn't backfired.
04:11It's not for the lack of trying, but in that way.
04:13Is that true?
04:14Yeah, yeah.
04:14I mean, I've auditioned for so many movies in the past.
04:19Up for the role of Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit trilogy, Redmayne took his preparation seriously.
04:25Unfortunately, he decided the right move was to present an over-the-top impression of his predecessor, Ian Holm.
04:31My name is Bilbo Baggins.
04:37I thought it was being brave, you know, like being bold.
04:41And after, before the word Baggins would come out of my mouth, she said, no, no, no, no.
04:46Own voice.
04:47Own voice.
04:48After not getting a callback for that, Redmayne tried out for the Star Wars sequel trilogy.
04:53Since the plot was kept under wraps, Redmayne was given dialogue from Pride and Prejudice to read.
04:57If you think that sounds weird, Redmayne made it even stranger by doing a Darth Vader voice.
05:02Again, Redmayne's vocal choices did not help.
05:05I did about seven, eight takes of my sci-fi, weird, romantic, screwed-up father voice.
05:15And eventually, she's like, Eddie, have you got anything else?
05:18I was like, no.
05:20She's like, do you want to go?
05:22I was like, I think I should.
05:23Number six, Anthony Anderson, Def Jam's How to Be a Player.
05:27Anthony Anderson's worst audition technically wasn't even his.
05:31He followed a friend to an audition for the 1997 comedy How to Be a Player.
05:35Since a scene partner was required, Anderson was allowed to read opposite him.
05:39The thing is, Anderson was reading for a female character.
05:42I called it naivete, foolishness.
05:45I really thought I had a shot at being cast as the girl opposite my buddy in this film.
05:51Anderson decided to show how far he was willing to go, dressing as a woman.
05:55He didn't just put on a dress and wig.
05:57Anderson completed the ensemble with lipstick and high heels.
06:01Initially, Anderson thought the audition went well, hopeful that the filmmakers might go for the drag approach.
06:06I mean, Tom Hanks did it in Boothin' Buddies.
06:08Nipsey Russell did it with Geraldine.
06:10Jamie Foxx did it with Wanda.
06:12Tyler Perry got that slow sold up with Madea and all his other characters.
06:16Okay, the list goes on. I mean, we can keep going.
06:18Looking back, Anderson isn't exactly surprised that they didn't cast him or his buddy.
06:23We suppose the experience at least prepped Anderson for his Ally McBeal arc.
06:27Look, John, I'm sorry for calling you a little bud.
06:32No, it's all right, Matthew. I know you're frustrated.
06:34Number five, Chris Klein, Mamma Mia.
06:37Critics might have been kinder towards Pierce Brosnan singing voice
06:40voice of Chris Klein had also been cast in Mamma Mia.
06:43Klein didn't just read for the role of Skye.
06:45He, quote unquote, sang as well.
06:48We put that in quotation marks because whatever Klein did in his audition tape,
06:52it's not singing.
06:53We wouldn't even call it talk singing.
06:55Klein only made the experience more uncomfortable by looking directly into the camera with bug eyes.
07:14Despite his non-existent vocal range, Klein is clearly going for it,
07:18but even he seems to know that this is a waste of everyone's time.
07:21Wasn't jealous before we met.
07:25That does a potential threat.
07:29He later confessed, quote,
07:31I took a chance. I can't sing.
07:33When the audition tape was leaked, Klein figured he'd poke fun at himself,
07:37teeming with Funny or Die.
07:39Am I, am I am your avatar.
07:44I wish I knew how to quit you.
07:47Number four, Martin Short, Tang Commercial.
07:50So, Kira, you have stories about early failures,
07:52which I think is good for young people to read that it didn't come easy for you.
07:56Like, you had an early audition for Tang.
07:58Didn't go great.
08:00Yeah, I did. It was bad.
08:02Martin Short has never been afraid to show off his eccentric nature.
08:05While this has led to some one-of-a-kind comedic performances,
08:08some people don't always get his humor.
08:11Auditioning for a Tang commercial,
08:13Short noticed that everyone else in the waiting room looked just like him.
08:16So Short made a quick change to his headshot to stand out.
08:19I thought it would be a clever idea.
08:21Since everyone in the waiting room looked like me,
08:24we all had our 8x10 pictures,
08:26I thought it would be a good idea to take a Sharpie
08:28and draw a mustache and a goatee on my 8x10.
08:33Going one step further,
08:35Short gave himself matching Sharpie facial hair in the bathroom.
08:38The straight-faced executive looked at Short's 8x10,
08:41then looked at Short.
08:42Yeah, have you read the copy?
08:44It completely bummed.
08:45I had to go, not really.
08:46You're like, about that.
08:47Oh yeah, it was a failure.
08:48Didn't get it.
08:49Alas, Short was not destined to become a big-time Tang spokesperson.
08:53Their loss.
08:54Number 3.
08:55Henry Zebrowski.
08:56Saturday Night Live.
08:58One of the executive producers looked at me and said,
09:00how would you like to be on Saturday Night Live?
09:02And I was like,
09:03it's a dream.
09:04No, I don't want it.
09:05But at the time, I was like,
09:06absolutely.
09:06I thought they were going to be so excited to welcome me
09:09and my bros to that backriders room,
09:11and they were going to be so thankful.
09:12Like many other comedians who auditioned for SNL,
09:15Henry Zebrowski didn't make the cut.
09:17Yet he did gain a reputation as the naked guy,
09:20as producer Lindsay Shookus called him.
09:22A few minutes into his audition,
09:24Zebrowski suddenly emerged from the shadows
09:26in nothing but his shoes and socks.
09:28Zebrowski was optimistic about the audition,
09:31claiming that Lorne Michaels, quote,
09:33loved the naked monologue.
09:34Shookus, however,
09:35couldn't provide much insight into where he went wrong.
09:38I have no idea what he did.
09:39At that point, like,
09:40who remembers what he did?
09:41The naked guy.
09:42But he was the naked guy.
09:44And he didn't get hired.
09:45According to Zebrowski, he was told,
09:48we don't do you anymore.
09:50Zebrowski said the style of the show had changed.
09:52A, quote,
09:53sloppy clown like himself was no longer the right fit.
09:56Even if he didn't land the gig,
09:58Zebrowski doesn't feel any ill will towards SNL.
10:01I'm happy it happened.
10:02It's crazy that it happened.
10:03And I like him.
10:04And I realized that that's me.
10:05Number two,
10:06Matthew McConaughey,
10:07Mulholland Falls.
10:09In a 2013 Hollywood Reporter Roundtable,
10:12Matthew McConaughey opened up about an ill-fated audition
10:14for the 1996 Lee Tamahori film Mulholland Falls.
10:18McConaughey read for the role that ultimately went to Chris Penn.
10:21And at first,
10:22he wasn't satisfied with his audition performance.
10:24It was over in Santa Monica somewhere,
10:26and I went in there,
10:27and I did my audition,
10:29but I knew going out, man,
10:30I was like,
10:31damn it,
10:31you kind of gave 80%.
10:33You didn't kind of go there.
10:34Although he was already on the road,
10:36McConaughey did a U-turn and drove back,
10:39ready to deliver 100%.
10:41But he might have overcompensated a little.
10:44If someone's in there,
10:45just right past the secretary,
10:46knocked the casting director out of the way,
10:48went right up to Tom O'Reilly,
10:50nailed him against the wall,
10:51and just pounded him against the wall,
10:52grabbed the next guy,
10:53put him in the corner,
10:54grabbed like a spoon or something,
10:55and just wrecked the room,
10:57and then left.
11:00While McConaughey proved he could play a tough guy,
11:03he probably came off as too aggressive.
11:05He didn't hear back,
11:07but at least McConaughey knew he gave it his all.
11:09It didn't work out,
11:10but it was,
11:11but I did sleep better that night,
11:13knowing that,
11:14all right,
11:14at least you,
11:15that may have been really embarrassing,
11:16may have worked,
11:16maybe not,
11:17but.
11:17You may have gotten the part,
11:19had you not gone back.
11:20Before we continue,
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11:36Number 1.
11:38Sean Young,
11:38Batman Returns.
11:40The part belongs to me,
11:41whether you recognize it or not.
11:44I am Catwoman.
11:47Sean Young was originally set to play Vicki Vale
11:50in 1989's Batman.
11:52Due to a horse riding injury,
11:53she had to drop out,
11:54with Kim Basinger filling in.
11:56As a sequel entered development,
11:58Young pursued the role of Catwoman,
11:59but her agent couldn't book a meeting,
12:02so Young rented a jet to L.A.,
12:04giving herself a catty makeover on the flight over.
12:06She made it past security on the Warner Brothers lot,
12:09and managed to run into Michael Keaton
12:10and producer Mark Canton,
12:12but director Tim Burton proved more elusive.
12:15Is Tim here?
12:16Yeah, can I help you?
12:18I heard he hid under the desk,
12:20and he wouldn't see me.
12:22I didn't know that at the time, though.
12:23I was looking everywhere for him.
12:24Burton instead went with Michelle Pfeiffer,
12:26but that didn't stop Young from going on the Joan Rivers show
12:29in a homemade Catwoman suit.
12:31This, quote, audition, of sorts,
12:33did not change Burton's mind.
12:35Is not to grant the Catwoman a meeting,
12:37and not to see me when I drop by your office,
12:40indicates that you're not taking care of business,
12:43and that you don't have a clue
12:45as to who the real Catwoman is.
12:48What's the craziest audition story you've ever heard?
12:51Let us know in the comments.
12:52Henry, what did you do over there?
12:55Oh, I guess you talked to him, huh?
12:58Oh, they called me while you were still in the parking lot.
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