10 Things You Didn't Know About Alden Ehrenreich
4. One Of His Biggest Film Roles Nearly Didn't Happen
In 2013 Ehrenreich starred in Beautiful Creatures, an American romantic fantasy filmed based on the novel of the same name by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The film tells the story of Ethan (Alden) who longs to escape his small Southern town. When he meets Lena (Alice Englert) they uncover various dark secrets about their families and their history.
The film stars Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson among others, and was hoped to tap into a similar sort of hype left behind by the Twilight saga. Despite not taking off like the film adaptations of Stephen Meyer's vampire saga, it gave Ehrenreich the chance to work on a high budget, potential franchise film alongside some huge stars.
Initially, however, Alden wasn't even cast in the role of Ethan. Ethan was to be played by fellow acting newbie Jack O'Connell. Unfortunately for Jack, his work visa was repeatedly blocked in the lead up to filming beginning in New Orleans. The cast and crew needed to say on schedule, so the role was recast at the very last second and given to Alden.