10 Excuses Actors Used For Blowing Major Movie Auditions
9. Jake Gyllenhaal's Agents Didn't Tell Him He Needed An English Accent - The Lord Of The Rings
The Role
Frodo Baggins, the inimitable Hobbit hero of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as was played so impeccably by Elijah Wood.
The Audition
Jake Gyllenhaal was among the many young actors who auditioned for Frodo, and though Gyllenhaal presents himself as an inestimable pillar of confidence these days, back in the late' 90s he was still a teenager with just a handful of roles to his name.
In an interview with Jimmy Fallon, Gyllenhaal confirmed he flubbed the audition big-time, citing one key reason: his agents were so excited about scoring him the audition that they forgot to tell him the part required an English accent.
As such, Gyllenhaal performed the audition in his own American accent, prompting Peter Jackson to offer him some brutally honesty feedback, calling him "the worst actor [he's] ever seen," and then advising him to fire his agents for failing to tell him about the accent requirement.
Jake's career flourished regardless of course, and had he won the Frodo role the world would've been robbed of his unforgettable work in Donnie Darko.