7 Strangest Things Actors Had To Do To Win Movie Roles

4. Emma Stone Had To Pant Like She Was Giving Birth (The Favourite)

The Favourite Emma Stone
Fox Searchlight

Emma Stone's character in The Favourite is Abigail Masham, who spends the entire plot trying to win over Queen Anne, played by Olivia Colman in an Oscar-winning turn.

And just like Hoult, Stone also had to follow some of Lanthimos' weird auditioning practices in order to land her part in the film.

According to the actress, the director asked her to "pant like I was giving birth" while testing her for the role, even though Abigail doesn't squeeze out a baby - or indeed, doesn't fall pregnant - at any point in the movie:

"[When] I auditioned for Yorgos, he had me pant like I was giving birth throughout the lines. I think he just does this to everyone."

As previously mentioned, Lanthimos' films are quite weird and surreal. At the same time though, they also feel quite down-to-earth. It's an odd tonal balance that must be very tricky to get right, so maybe he tests his actors in these strange ways to make sure that they can play normal characters, but in a heightened environment?

Either way, it can't have been easy for Stone. Ever tried panting and talking in a posh English accent at the same time? It's bloody difficult.

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Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!