20 Movie Auditions For Famous Roles You Need To See

When it comes to the really iconic characters in film history, we tend to get tremendously attached to the actors that play them. We assign ownership to these characters, and kind of forget that they didn't always belong to the actors that brought them to life. Luke Skywalker wasn't always Mark Hamill, and Indiana Jones wasn't always Harrison Ford. Once upon a time, these parts were up for grabs, and these actors had to audition for them just like everybody else, competing with hundreds of other hopefuls. It's amazing to sit down and watch the auditions that landed them these fantastic roles, which effectively changed the course of their careers. But equally interesting are the auditions of actors who, for whatever reason, didn't get the part, but went on to become celebrities for their work on other projects regardless. It's a classic what if scenario. We're so familiar with the work of these celebrated actors that it's hard not to wonder what would have happened if they had gotten a particularly famous role instead of someone else. How would the film have changed? Would it have been as successful? Would there be a rift in the fabric of the space-time continuum? Well, it's unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

20. Robert De Niro As Sonny - The Godfather

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tdgBlZc8Wc Back in the early 1970s, The Godfather was one of the biggest opportunities in film, and every actor was clamoring for an audition. Young Robert De Niro, virtually unknown at this point in his career (his breakout role in Mean Streets wouldn't happen for another year or two), read for the role of Sonny, Michael Corleone's tough older brother. Even in this brief clip, you can see his incredible raw talent and star presence that would make him one of the most prolific actors of all time. Despite this, he was passed over for the part, which eventually went to James Caan. But Francis Ford Coppola was so impressed by his performance that he gave him the part of young Vito Corleone in The Godfather II, a role that won Robert De Niro his first of two Academy Awards (the second came in 1981 for his work in Raging Bull).

19. Dan Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint As Harry, Ron, Hermione - Harry Potter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kFmTSbuy4Q The production team of the Harry Potter franchise was landed with a Herculean task before filming began on the first movie. They had to find three children who could not only act, but bore more than a passing resemblance to the iconic characters from the books, and were mature enough to work on the series for a number of films. Oh, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione are an inseparable trio, so they would have to have a natural chemistry together. That's why this tape is so crucial. It's the first screen test the three young actors had together, and it's what convinced casting to go forward with them. They were largely untested as actors (Daniel Radcliffe was the only one who had any experience on a film set), but the three children worked amazingly well as a trio from the very beginning.