10 Actors Who Bombed Huge Auditions

Tom Holland could have been in Star Wars if he had just stopped laughing.

By Scott Banner /

The movie industry is no different from the rest of life in that there is not a soul who enjoys being interviewed for a job. It's stressful, it's high pressure, and there's only one chance to make a first impression good enough to put you in with a shot of getting the gig.

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It's the same with auditions, and you'd do well to find an actor who doesn't hate the process. They all have their own personal horror stories of when things have gone wrong, some of which are so much worse than others. In fact, there are many actors who do not have to read for parts at all, thus side-stepping one of the most awkward parts of the production process.

Naturally, actors fail the auditioning process every day, that's essentially the whole point, but not everyone gets so drunk the night before that they forget their lines. Not everyone phones it in because they think their looks are all that matter. Not everyone fails to get through a single line of dialogue without laughing in a scene that isn't supposed to be funny.

This is just a snippet of the embarrassment contained within this list, and they weren't just for any role. These were all for massive roles that could have potentially changed the careers of these actors and made them stars.

10. Hugh Jackman - Miss Congeniality

The year 2000 was when Hugh Jackman became a star. Though initially thought by many to be miscast in the role of Wolverine in X-Men, you only have to look at the reaction to his return to the character for Deadpool and Wolverine to know just how wrong those thoughts were.

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In between filming the movie that would change his life and its release, Hugh Jackman auditioned for a role opposite Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality. It was ultimately Benjamin Bratt who brought Eric Matthews to life, and Jackman knows exactly why he was passed over.

For starters, neither he nor his agent actually wanted him to get the job. The point of going to the audition was so the role could be leveraged against another, namely in Someone Like You opposite Ashley Judd. This led to complacency on the part of the soon-to-be X-Man, who was surprised by having to read opposite Bullock herself.

He had never had to read with another actor before, and his first time was with Sandra Bullock, with him having not read the script nearly enough. It was looked at by his agent as a formality that he would get the job, but he fell short. Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

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