20 Things You Didn't Know About A Serious Man

Michael Stuhlbarg was not the only actor considered for the role of Larry Gopnik. Marc Maron and Patton Oswalt auditioned for the role before it went to the Broadwalk Empire alum, an inspired piece of casting that gave Stuhlbarg new levels of notoriety.

There is no doubt that Maron and Oswalt would have made fine casting choices due to their Jewish background and comedic chops but Stuhlbarg knocked the role out of the park. He effortlessly conveyed Larry's mild-mannered but increasingly exasperated nature and his line delivery (especially his delivery of the famous ''What's going on?'' line) helped create a character that is seriously out of depth in his current life.

Interestingly, Stuhlbarg originally auditioned for the role of the Jewish man in the film's opening, but was at a disadvantage due to his inexperience in the Yiddish language. Fortunately, the Coens overlooked this and chose to cast him as Larry due to the strength of his audition.