Odds are anyone would be upset and hold a grudge against themselves and casting directors if they "bombed" their audition for Star Wars. It's Star Wars! Only one of the most iconic movie franchises in the world.
Michael B. Jordan just revisited how he "bombed" his audition for Finn in the newest Star Wars trilogy where Daisy Ridley starred as Rey, John Boyega as Finn, and Adam Driver as Kylo Ren/Ben Solo. We'd be mad too if we lost the chance to star in the sequel trilogy that went on to make well over $4 billion collectively.
But could you imagine what it must feel like for all of the other thousands of actors who tried and failed to get cast in the franchise? Everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio, who was offered Anakin Skywalker, to Al Pacino, who could have starred as Han Solo of all characters, could have made Star Wars look very different. It's probably even worse having failed to get one of the Legacy Player roles. Kurt Russell bombed his audition for Han Solo, as did Anjelica Houston and Jodie Foster for Princess Leia and William Kat for Luke.
So Jordan shouldn't feel too bad. He did get the title of "Sexiest Man Alive," though, so there is that. It's okay; Jordan got to star in another huge franchise when he was cast as Erik Killmonger in Black Panther. So life is good for him right now, even if he still holds a little bit of a grudge against Star Wars.
Tried And Failed Jordan Did
We first heard about Jordan's failed audition for Star Wars: The Force Awakens back in 2013. But he's only recently let on how bad it truly was.
While promoting his new film Without Remorse, Jordan told Variety that his audition for Finn (which later went to John Boyega) eight years ago was "probably my worst audition to date."
"I think it was I couldn’t wrap my brain around some of the sides because you know when you’re reading for these high-level projects, there’s never really any specificity in the sides," Jordan said. "Everything’s like super vague; everything is in secret. Reading through, I just couldn’t connect it. I definitely bombed that one for sure."
So along with being extremely nervous because, again, this was Star Wars, Jordan was given virtually nothing to go on for his part. All of that combined kind of sets you up to fail, doesn't it?
Tom Holland also blew his audition for Finn. He told Backstage magazine that he failed to get in the zone and ended up laughing throughout most of his audition.
"I was like four or five auditions in, and I think I was auditioning for John Boyega’s role," Holland said. "I remember doing this scene with this lady, bless her, and she was just a drone. So I was doing all of this, like, 'We gotta get back to the ship!' And she was going, 'Bleep, bloop bloop, bleep bloop.' I just couldn’t stop laughing. I found it so funny. And I felt really bad, because she was trying really hard to be a convincing android or drone or whatever they’re called. Yeah, I obviously didn’t get the part. That wasn’t my best moment."
Both stars ended up with great roles in the MCU, however. At least their Star Wars auditions gave them their first taste of auditioning for a franchise and their first taste of what it's like auditioning with virtually no context because everything is so secret.
They were probably better off anyway. Boyega explained to GQ that he had to go through months of auditions, and throughout those months, he never knew if he truly had the role.
"I was unleashed into seven months of auditions. It was like The X Factor but without the TV show around it. It was intense," he said. He also had a similar starstruck reaction to reading the script as Jordan did.
"When I read the script I cried, and I'm not really a big crier... I'm more like a frog-in-the-throat kind of guy, who'll try to hold it in and make sure I don't let it all out," he said.
Tried And Failed Others Have
Along with Jordan and Holland, there were a lot of "almosts" for Force Awakens. When Carrie Fisher signed on to reprise a now-General Leia, she requested that her daughter Billie Lourd also get a part in the film, so she auditioned for Rey but didn't get it. Instead, she was given the part of Lieutenant Connix.
Her mother had a similar nerve-wracking experience when she auditioned for Princess Leia for what was then just Star Wars (it would later change to A New Hope) 40 years ago.
"There were incredible actresses that were my age there were being considered for this role, so I didn't think I would get it," Fisher said in the documentary Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy. "I got it with the proviso that I went to a fat farm and that I lose ten pounds."
Fisher went on to say that George Lucas "cast us to type in a way" because Leia was feisty, and so was she, and Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford were cast based on their personalities too.
We doubt J.J. Abrams had a similar approach to casting, although Rey, Finn, and Poe do have some of the same personality traits as their off-screen counterparts.
Along with Lourd, Eddie Redmayne auditioned for Kylo Ren and failed, as did Saoirse Ronan for Rey. The interesting thing is that everyone who had failed auditions went on to get just as great roles. But nothing will ever compare to Star Wars. What can we say? The Force is strong with only a few lucky actors.