Missing out on movies and TV shows happens to all notable performers. Whether it's for a beloved character, a movie that smashed at the box office, or a comedy that people still love, every major performer misses out at some point.
Lena Dunham has found success in entertainment, but back when she was a youngster, her attitude cost her a chance at appearing in a Drew Barrymore movie that had a lot of potential.
Let's take a look and see what happened.
Lena Dunham Breakout Took Place In 2012
Lena Dunham is a figure that has been in Hollywood for some time now. She was able to show what she could do with short films on YouTube, and eventually, she was able to break into entertainment and become a success.
Coming from a set of parents who were in the arts themselves was a help, but Dunham spent years honing her writing skills.
During the 2010s, Dunham was able to start doing some solid film and TV work. In 2012, everything changed for the better when her own series, Girls, became a breakout hit on the small screen.
The series ran for 6 seasons, coming to an end back in 2017.
In an interview with Rolling Stone Dunham opened up about ending the show.
"We always we wanted to go out while people were still engaged in the show, still talking about it. It felt like the saddest thing that could happen would be for people to be like, “Is Girls still on?” During Season Four, we started talking about wrapping it up; we then were able to clearly see the 20-episode arc of Seasons Five and Six that took Hannah and the girls to their logical conclusion," she said.
Things worked out for Dunham, but early on, she missed out on a Drew Barrymore picture.
Lena Dunham Was Up For A Role In Riding In Cars With Boys
2001's Riding in Cars With Boys might not have been a major blockbuster smash, but the film does have some fans, and it had a wildly talented cast who gave their best in Penny Marshall's film.
Starring Drew Barrymore, Brittany Murphy, James Woods, and Andy Garcia, the film was based on Beverly Donofrio's autobiography. The source material was fantastic, and it seemed like a no-brainer for a film.
In an interview, Murphy dished on the lead characters in the film, and how their journey would be looked like in modern times.
"They were definitely branded with the scarlet letter, in the time period they grew up in. I don't know what they'd be going through today, but I know that things would be quite different though. Maybe, maybe not, different in certain ways, but not in others," she said.
At the box office, the film performed poorly, and it did not do much better critically. It was a misfire, sadly.
During the audition process for the film, a young Lena Dunham was up for a role in the movie. The opportunity to appear in a movie alongside Drew Barrymore at a young age would have been great for Dunham's career at the time, but when it came down to auditioning for the role, she got in her own way.
Lena Dunham's Attitude Got In The Way
According to Dunham, "I understand why I didn't get the role, because she asked all the young actors to say our name, our height, where we were from, and smile...and I said, 'I'm Lena, I'm from New York, and I don't smile on command.' And Penny Marshall said, 'It's called acting, honey.'"
That's an extremely bold and foolish move by a young and unproven performer, and it did not work out for her in the slightest.
Fortunately, Dunham is fully aware that she did it to herself.
"The thing is, she was right. Would you hire an actor who is like 'I'm sorry, I can't smile on command'?" Dunham said.
"The thing is, I'm with Penny on this one. I remember going home and knowing that I had 'screwed the pooch' so to speak, and my mother says that I laid in bed for like a week and moaned 'my career is over,'" she continued.
At least with the gift on hindsight, Lena Dunham can see that she was in the wrong. It's made especially clear by the fact that she's a director herself.
Riding in Cars With Boys was a missed opportunity for a young Lena Dunham, but things worked out in the end.