10 Excuses Actors Used For Blowing Major Movie Auditions
Michael B. Jordan blamed his failed Star Wars audition on a vague script.
Auditions are a simple, awkward reality for the vast majority of actors - unless you're a card-carrying member of the A-list, you'll need to show up and read lines to secure those lucrative movie roles, possibly being called back many times over many months before winning the part outright.
The auditioning process for huge movies is exhaustive and generally sees producers working their way through dozens or even hundreds of actors in order to find the right fit.
As such, it's little surprise that countless now-famous actors have horror stories to share about their most embarrassing and awkward auditions, and the apparent reason why they ended up blowing a big shot.
These 10 actors, all well-established performers nowadays, have bravely opened up about their most mortifying auditions for much sought-after film roles, and what they claim caused them not to be selected.
While we're of course only hearing one side of the story here, and it's entirely possible the director or casting department simply didn't see them as a good fit regardless, these actors nevertheless put it down to one very particular aspect of the audition process...
10. Mark Strong Went On A Drunken Bender... With Daniel Craig - A Pierce Brosnan James Bond Film
The Role
Though Mark Strong didn't actually confirm the specific role outright, he did state it was a villain in one of Pierce Brosnan's four James Bond films.
Given that he really only resembles The World Is Not Enough's villain Renard - as was eventually played by Robert Carlyle - that feels like the safest bet.
The Audition
In a recent interview, Strong admitted that a celebratory night out on the town caused him to blow his chance at becoming a Bond icon during an audition the next day:
"I learned the lines… and to celebrate I went out for a drink, and I got pissed. I overdid it and the next day I was severely hungover... I started, then I just forgot my lines, couldn't remember what they were and they all just kind of fell apart... I was sweating, it was a terrible experience - but I really learned from it."
The kicker, though? Strong's drinking buddy for the night was an actor who would become synonymous with 007 a few years later:
"The irony was, the guy I was out the night before getting pissed with was Daniel Craig. So I blame him!"
Incredible. As much as Strong gets pigeonholed as a villain these days, he absolutely would make an incredible Bond baddie, and better still, he probably wouldn't need to audition for it this time.