25 Iconic Roles Celebrities Auditioned For But Did Not Get

May 23, 2024

Like any career out there, rejection is part of the course. After all, when applying for a new job, most people get denied over and over again until one place decides to give them a chance. Being an actor in Hollywood is, in many ways, not that different.

“Being an actor is hard, auditioning is hard and it can bring up a lot of emotions because you’re dealing with rejection constantly every day,” Captain Marvel star Brie Larson once said on her YouTube Channel. “For those who are actors, I feel you. For those who think being an actor is just fluffy and easy, you’re wrong.”

In fact, many of our favorite actors and actresses have undoubtedly been rejected countless times before landing the roles that cemented themselves in the industry. Jennifer Lawrence, for instance, has been open about not getting roles at the beginning of her career. After not landing Kristen Stewart‘s role in Twilight, for example, she was cast in The Hunger Games almost a year later. How different would their lives, and the Twilight fandom, be if things had gone otherwise? We can’t imagine!

Check out some more of our favorite stars who were rejected from roles we know and love below!

Emma Stone Was in the Running for ‘Friday Night Lights’
Emma Stone recently opened up about auditioning for the hit series Friday Night Lights. “When I was auditioning in LA when I was, I think I was 15 at the time, I got a couple of callbacks for Friday Night Lights,” Stone said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“I was totally devastated that it didn’t work out,” Stone remembered. “And it would’ve been so crazy if I had met [Kinds of Kindness co-star] Jesse [Plemons] back then.”
At the time, Stone was in the running to play Coach Eric Taylor’s daughter, Julie Taylor, which was ultimately played by Aimee Teegarden.
Jamie Foxx Was Too Starstruck in His ‘Jerry Maguire’ Interview
Back in 2007, Jamie Foxx remembered getting a little too starstruck over Tom Cruise when he auditioned for Cuba Gooding Jr.’s role in Jerry Maguire.
“Tom Cruise walked in with his little leather jacket, he looked like he had just walked off of Top Gun,” Foxx told The Howard Stern Show. “I was just done.”
When it came to the actual reading, Foxx said he was too distracted by Cruise’s star power. “I blew it because I kept looking at him,” she said. “Imagine you’re from Texas, you’ve done a little bit of s– but you ain’t seen no real f— stars, right? So I’m just sitting there watching [him].”
Among the other no-nos from the audition were speaking too loudly instead of dramatically, and thinking Cruise was lost in the script when he was just whispering his lines instead.
“I blew it so bad that he started laughing at me,” Foxx said.
Cynthia Nixon Originally Auditioned to Play Carrie in ‘Sex and the City’
Although today we can’t see anything else playing the fantastic foursome that led Sex and the City for so many years, it turns out Cynthia Nixon, our eternal Miranda, actually auditioned for Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie to begin with. “They brought me in to audition for Carrie,” Nixon said in a recent episode of the And Just Like That… The Writers Room podcast. “I auditioned and they were like, ‘Yeah, not so much.'”
Jennifer Lawrence Auditioned for ‘Alice in Wonderland’ & ‘Twilight’
The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence has been open in the past about the roles she’s missed out on. “The one thing that really killed me, like the only time I’ve ever been truly devastated by losing an audition was Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland,” Lawrence said on Howard Stern’s radio show recently. “That one devastated me.”
And, as it turns out, Lawrence also auditioned for another iconic movie: Twilight. “I auditioned for Twilight [and] they turned me down immediately,” she recalled in The Rewatchables podcast. “I didn’t even get a callback. But my life would’ve been totally different. I got Hunger Games a year later.” Everything happens for a reason, right?
Brie Larson Auditioned for ‘The Hunger Games,’ ‘Terminator’ & ‘Star Wars’
Speaking of Lawrence, it turns out fellow Hollywood powerhouse Brie Larson once auditioned for her role of Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games. The actress shared the news, along with many other roles she didn’t get, on her YouTube channel. “I didn’t get Gossip Girl and I’m really glad,” she said. “I auditioned for Hunger Games and I didn’t get it, I auditioned for Tomorrowland and I didn’t get it, I auditioned for all the new Star Wars and I didn’t get it. I tested for The Big Bang Theory, I remembered that this morning.”
Lastly, Larson also added she auditioned for 2015’s The Terminator and didn’t get it because cast directors weren’t sure if “she could carry a gun.”
Emma Stone Also Auditioned for ‘Alice in Wonderland’
Talking to Timothee Chalamet for Variety’s Actors on Actors, Emma Stone opened up about not getting 2010’s Alice in Wonderland. “Tim Burton’s a crusher,” the Oscar winner said. “Oh, my God, when I auditioned for Alice in Wonderland and not getting a Tim Burton movie is really devastating.”
Timothee Chalamet Auditioned for ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’
In that same talk, Chalamet admitted to auditioning for Spider-Man: Homecoming in the role that would ultimately go to Tom Holland. “I went up for all these things, and tested for Spider-Man and I didn’t get it, and a Tim Burton movie, too, and these things weren’t happening,” the actor said.
Matthew McConaughey Nailed His Audition for ‘Titanic’
Although we can barely picture anyone else playing Jack Dawson in Titanic besides Leonardo DiCaprio, it turns out fellow Hollywood powerhouse Matthew McConaughey almost had the role at some point. “The audition went really well,” the actor remembered in an episode of Watch What Happens Live. “Well enough where, when I was left, I was being slapped on the back … well enough where you go outside and call your agent and say ‘Oh, I nailed it.'”
He then went on to refute the rumors he had gotten and turned down the role . “I never got the role,” he said.
Reese Witherspoon Was Up for Playing Cher in ‘Clueless’
Amy Heckerling, the writer and director of Clueless, spoke to Vanity Fair in 2015 about eyeing Reese Witherspoon to play Cher in Clueless. “I did see some scenes of hers and went, ‘Wow. She’s amazing,'” she remembered. “But Alicia [Silverstone] is Cher.”
Lucy Hale Auditioned for ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’
Before Dakota Johnson was cast as Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey, Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale put her hat in the ring for the role. “It wasn’t actual scenes from the movie, but it was a very sexually forward monologue,” she recalled to Associated Press. “And I didn’t really even know what I was saying.”

“I obviously didn’t get the part,” Hale added. “But it was good for me because it scared the crap out of me to do an audition like that.”
Amanda Seyfried Really Wanted to Play Glinda in ‘Wicked’
Although the film adaptation of Wicked has yet to be released, Mamma Mia‘s Amanda Seyfried recently opened up about her experience wanting to play Glinda, a part that eventually was given to Ariana Grande.
“I have dreams that I’m still auditioning for Wicked,” she told Backstage, adding that she would fit in auditions while filming Hulu’s The Dropout. “I literally bent over backward while playing the hardest role of my life. But I think it also taught me how far I’ve come as a singer, which I really wanted to prove. Because ever since Les Miz, I was like,’ I need to be better,’ ‘I need to do better.’ So whatever comes next in terms of musicals, I’m finally prepared.”
Freddie Prinze Jr. Blew His Audition for ‘Spider-Man’
Freddie Prinze Jr. was once so excited for an audition, that he blew it altogether. Remembering the moment in a 2019 episode of his podcast Prinze and the Wolf, Prinze talked about going far into Spider-Man auditions.
“I got a meeting with Sam [Raimi], and I was super excited, super nervous,” he remembered, per Business Insider. “Went it and we sat down — it was only like three people that he was talking to — and I sat down and he goes ‘So, tell me, tell me why you love Spider-Man?'”
“I go into this whole like universe of what my favorite parts of ‘Spider-Man’ were, and I foolishly bring up the alien symbiote, which is Venom, right,” he continued.
After the conversation was over, however, Prinze realized his crucial mistake. “When I left I literally was like ‘You just talked about Venom instead of Spider-Man for 25 minutes you stupid a—,’ and I drove home so upset and angry.”
The role ended up going to Tobey Maguire.
Kurt RusselL Was a Finalist to Play Han Solo in ‘Star Wars’
Talking to Chris Pratt for USA Today, Kurt Russell remembered being close to getting a part in Star Wars. “I was actually in the final running, but I needed to give an answer to ABC to do a Western show. I asked George [Lucas], ‘Do you think you’re going to use me?’ He said, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to put you with him, or him, or those two guys'” Russell remembered. “I gotta go to work, so I do the Western.”
Taylor Momsen Auditioned for ‘Hannah Montana’
Singer and actress Taylor Momsen revealed many years ago that she was in the top two actors to play the main role in Hannah Montana, a part that’s now iconic due to Miley Cyrus.
“Honestly, if I’d have ended up as Hannah Montana, I don’t know if the show would have gone as well,” Momsen told Express. “I probably would have told them all to go f— themselves by the time I hit 11. And I don’t know how that would have gone down. It’s great for Miley, but I really like where I am right now and I feel really fortunate to be able to really be myself.”
Tom Holland Blew His Audition for ‘Star Wars’
Although Tom Holland seems to be everywhere in Hollywood these days, he’s no stranger to a horrible audition. Talking to Backstage, Holland remembered his audition for Star Wars.
“I was like four or five auditions in, and I think I was auditioning for John Boyega’s role,” the Spider-Man: No Way Home star said. “I remember doing this scene with this lady, bless her, and she was just a drone. So I was doing all of this, like, ‘We gotta get back to the ship!’ And she was going, ‘Bleep, bloop bloop, bleep bloop.’ I just couldn’t stop laughing. I found it so funny.” We’re laughing just thinking about it, Tom!
He continued, “And I felt really bad because she was trying really hard to be a convincing android or drone or whatever they’re called. Yeah, I obviously didn’t get the part. That wasn’t my best moment.”
Meryl Streep Had a Brutal ‘King Kong’ Audition
We know what you’re thinking: “Who would say ‘no’ to Meryl Streep?” As it turns out, producer Dino De Laurentiis turned down the actress for the role of King Kong.
“I walked in and [Dino De Laurentiis’s] son was sitting there, very excited that he’d brought in this new actress and the father said to his son — in Italian, cause I understand Italian — he said ‘Che brutta?’ You know, ‘Why do you bring me this ugly thing?'” Streep recalled in an appearance on The Graham Norton Show.
Streep, showing off her Italian, then responded back to him, “I’m sorry I’m not beautiful enough to be in ‘King Kong.” Love the sass!
Bradley Cooper Auditioned for ‘Green Lantern’
Long before becoming Rocket in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, Bradley Cooper auditioned for the main role in Green Lantern, a part that ended up going to Ryan Reynolds. “I tried to get it,” he said on Howard Stern’s radio show, per Insider. I auditioned for it and screen-tested and everything. They said no.”
Taylor Lautner Auditioned for ‘Camp Rock’
Believe it or not, the Jonas Brothers weren’t the only ones in the running for Camp Rock. According to the movie’s director Matthew Diamond, Taylor Lautner also tried out. “Taylor Lautner did audition, and we liked him a lot,” he said. “I think we kind of said he wasn’t exactly right for the part.”
Britney Spears Shockingly Auditioned for ‘The Notebook’
This one’s a doozy! Although Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling made TV history in The Notebook, the two weren’t the only two people in the running. According to Entertainment Tonight, singer Britney Spears also auditioned at some point.
Robert De Niro Was Almost in ‘The Godfather’
Although Robert De Niro iconically starred in The Godfather: Part II, he actually first auditioned for the role of Santino “Sonny” Corleone in the first movie. “I don’t know where I’d be,” De Niro told CNN of what would’ve happened if he was cast in it instead of James Caan.
Olivia Wilde Almost Got Her Career Started in ‘The O.C.’
Many years ago, when Olivia Wilde was just starting her career, she auditioned for the role of Marissa in The O.C. “Olivia [Wilde] and Mischa were the two finalists for Marissa,” the show’s creator Josh Schwartz told ScreenRant. “Olivia had just moved out to L.A., it was like one of her first auditions and she was obviously super compelling and great, but just so strong.” The role, of course, eventually went to Mischa Barton.
John Krasinski Almost Became Captain America
Talking to Ellen DeGeneres a few years ago, John Krasinski remembered his audition for Captain America, a role that eventually went to Chris Evans. “The truth is, they hadn’t offered it to [Chris] yet, so they were like, ‘Let’s see who else is out there before we offer it to Chris Evans,'” he said jokingly. “It didn’t work out,” he added at the end.
Millie Bobby Brown Really Wanted This Role in ‘Game of Thrones’
Before landing the role of Eleven in Stranger Things, Millie Bobby Brown auditioned for the role of Lyanna Mormant in Game of Thrones. “I got a no for that,” she told Cosmopolitan. “That’s kind of when I was like, ‘Oh, this is really difficult,’ and I guess I really wanted that role.” The role eventually went to The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey.
Ben Stiller ‘Tanked’ His ‘My Cousin Vinny’ Audition
Ben Stiller may be a world-famous actor, but not every audition was perfect. During a recent Q&A, Stiller revealed he still thinks about his failed audition for Ralph Macchio’s role in the Oscar-winning movie My Cousin Vinny. “I tanked my audition for My Cousin Vinny,” he said, per Independent. “It still haunts me to this day.”
Jake Gyllenhaal Didn’t Understand His ‘Lord of the Rings’ Audition
In an appearance at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Jake Gyllenhaal remembered his somewhat traumatic audition for Lord of the Rings. “I remember going to this room, there was a lot of stage directions and no lines… It was just like finding the ring… and I remember I didn’t really do it because I didn’t really understand because there were no lines,” he said.
Gyllenhaal then remembered reading another scene, this time with lines, but acting it with no accent. “Fire your agents,” the cast member told Gyllenhaal after the disaster.