They Didn’t Get the Part: Volume 1
Actors don’t always get the roles they try out for. Even the ones that go on to become stars. Here are some auditions that actors must have thought that they nailed only to find out later that the producers, studios or director wanted someone else for the part.
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Superman: Stockard Channing as Lois Lane
If the audition had gone her way, Superman would have been flying across Metropolis with Rizzo from “Grease” instead of Margot Kidder.
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Jumanji – Scarlett Johansson as Judy
This takes us back to the days when Kirsten Dunst was beating out Scarlett Johansson for movie roles. If Scarlett had upped her game – it could have stopped a run of Kirsten Dunst in “Spider-Man” movies.
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The Godfather – Robert De Niro as Sonny Corleone
De Niro loses the part to James Caan, but impresses Francis Ford Coppola so much that he brings De Niro back for “The Godfather: Part 2” to play young Vito Corleone.
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Star Wars – Cindy Williams as Princess Leia
It’s hard to forget Cindy Williams isn’t still Shirley Feeney from “Laverne & Shirley” in this audition. She sounds like she should be talking about Boo Boo Kitty instead of R2D2.
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Fame: The TV Series – Madonna as Doris
Madonna was already using the one-name gimmick and was a little over a year from her first album release. But she also wanted a TV series. Here she’s totally Madonna auditioning for the TV version of “Fame”.
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The Amazing Spider-Man – Josh Hutcherson as Peter Parker
Josh Hutcherson got pretty far into the audition process for the part of the new Spider-Man. This is an elaborate fight sequence screen test with choreography, wires and stunt men. Josh lost the part to Andrew Garfield, but it wasn’t from his lack of being able to strike a Spider-Man pose.
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