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15 Bonkers Ways Actors Got Their Big Roles

Not even dignity can stand in the way of someone pursuing their dream.

15 Bonkers Ways Actors Got Their Big Roles

February 01, 2021

Sigourney Weaver might have had to do some weird stuff on camera for Ghostbusters, but that’s pretty tame compared to her audition. Let us tell you about that and 14 more stories ...

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Sigourney Weaver got cast in Ghostbusters because she got on all fours and howled like a dog. She thought Dana should be possessed and basically turned into a dog, so when she met with director Ivan Reitman, she jumped on his coffee table on all fours and howled like a — Source: The Hollywood Reporter

14

They only put Shane Black in Predator SO he could rewrite the script for them. 5FTROCY He didn't want to do a rewrite, so they gave him a role, thinking that they could get him to do it if he was on set. But when he showed up, he again — Source: 6 Crazy Auditions That Landed Actors Their Famous Roles

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The Omen

Harvey Stevens was cast in The Omen because he kicked the director in the crotch. Director Richard Donner wasn't sure if Stevens could pull off the scene where, as Damien, he has to fight his own mother- so in the audition, Donner told him to come at him. Stevens charged — Source: 6 Crazy Auditions That Landed Actors Their Famous Roles

12

The Notebook

They put Ryan Gosling in The Notebook because they thought he wasn't handsome. Director Nick Cassavetes told him, I want you to play this role because you're not like the other young actors out there in Hollywood. You're not handsome, you're not cool, you're just a regular guy who looks — Source: 6 Crazy Auditions That Landed Actors Their Famous Roles

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Friends' Gunther was originally just an extra. He was just in the background for the first season and a half, and then they asked the actor, James Michael Tyler, if he had any acting experience. They started giving him a line here and there, and eventually fleshed him out into — Source: 6 Crazy Auditions That Landed Actors Their Famous Roles

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Harrison Ford got cast as Han Solo because he was installing Francis Ford Coppola's door. That's where he ran into George Lucas, who had him sit opposite actresses he was auditioning for Princess Leia and read Han Solo's lines. Which made him realize that Ford should really play Solo. — Source: 6 Crazy Auditions That Landed Actors Their Famous Roles

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Rory McCann got the role of The Hound because his sister messed up. He had asked her to print out his audition speech, but she'd only gotten the first few lines, so he went in with basically nothing. He then ad-libbed the whole thing, unleashing all the anger he was — Source: 6 Crazy Auditions That Landed Actors Their Famous Roles

8

The Lion King

Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella had Timon and Pumbaa tailor-made for them. They had auditioned for the hyenas in Lion King, but the studio liked them so much that they created two new characters, Timon and Pumbaa, for them. CRACKEDcO — Source: Entertainment Weekly

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John Krasinski

John Krasinski got a role on The Office by badmouthing the show to the executive producer. The producer sat down next to Krasinski while he was waiting to audition, and Krasinski, who had no idea who he was, told him he was really afraid they'll screw up the show. When — Source: HelloGiggles

6

Seinfeld

Seinfeld's Soup Nazi showed up to his audition in military uniform. Larry Thomas thought the Soup Nazi was going to be an actual Nazi, so he put on a uniform to show how totally committed he was. He looked like Saddam Hussein, in his words. And he still got the — Source: The Hollywood Reporter

5

Rachel McAdams played Regina George in Mean Girls just because Lindsay Lohan couldn't. They had cast Lohan as Regina, but then decided she couldn't play the villain because Freaky Friday had just come out and her fans wouldn't want to see her as a bad guy. So they cast Rachel — Source: Vulture

4

Pedro Pascal shot his Game of Thrones audition on a janky iPhone. It looked like s**t, said show co-creator David Benioff-- it was shot vertical on an old-school iPhone and looked really amateurish. But his performance was intense and believable and just right, so he got the part. — Source: Variety

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Pat Morita auditioned 5 times for The Karate Kid. Pat Morita was a comedian, so producer Jerry Weintraub had a hard time believing he could pull off a dramatic role. After 5 tests, Weintraub said Pat, I almost made the worst mistake of my life. I just want to be — Source: The Hollywood Reporter

2

James Cameron cast Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic because all the women in the building came to see him. Matthew McConaughey had already auditioned and did really well, but then they called in Dicaprio, and every woman in the building, from the accountant to the security guard, came to the meeting. — Source: The Wrap

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Hugh Laurie's American accent was sO convincing, House M.D. executive producer Bryan Singer had no idea he was British. When he saw Laurie's audition, he went See, this is what I want: an American guy. The producers were looking for a quintessentially American person, says creator David Shore, and apparently — Source: USA Today

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