14 Actors Who Had To Audition More Than Once To Land Their Iconic Role

14 Actors Who Had To Audition More Than Once To Land Their Iconic Role

Hollywood can be a soul-destroying business, and only the toughest of the tough will really succeed there.

These actresses and actors had to go through several rounds of pretty stressful auditions in order to land the major role that they did. I'm not so sure that I could do the same!

1. Anyone who saw Spider-Man: Homecoming can tell you how talented Tom Holland was as Peter Parker.

You would have never guessed that he had to audition eight times before he was chosen for the part. In the end, he won the directors over with his back flip skills.

2. Gal Gadot didn't even know what role she was auditioning for when she tried out for Wonder Woman.

She explained that it was a "secret audition" but she was so tired of auditing for great roles and being turned down.

Thankfully she was willing to go back for a screen test and eventually land the role of Wonder Woman!

3. Pulp Fiction sure wouldn't have been the same without Samuel L. Jackson.

He had been told by director Quentin Tarantino that the role was written for him, and so his audition wasn't anything more than mediocre. 

Little did he know that a different actor had auditioned and knocked it out of the park.

Samuel was given a second chance to audition, but was cautioned that he really needed to give his best effort this time. It goes without saying, but he nailed it the second time around! What a close call.

4. Anyone else but Christina Hendricks in Mad Men just wouldn't make sense.

Apparently she was given the role of Peggy, the secretary, but wasn't satisfied. 

She then auditioned for the part of Joan, then Don's mistress Midge, then for Joan once again. All that hard work paid off!

5. Nobody really knew who Michael Biehn was before he was cast inThe Terminator. 

Funny enough, Michael had spent hours rehearsing for the play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, which required a thick southern accent. 

He couldn't shake the accent for his Terminator audition, but thankfully was given a second chance to come back in and try again, minus the accent.

6. We all know and love Jenna Fischer, who plays Pam in The Office.

Apparently there were four different options for who was going to play Jim and Pam, which sounds like some tough competition! We're glad Jenna made it through to the final round. We love her!

7. Ray Liotta played the role of Henry Hill in Goodfellas.

Ray had to meet with the director various times over several months to audition. Even though it was a lot of hard work, and the studio wanted a bigger name for the role, he eventually landed it!

8. I can imagine that filling the role of Serena Van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl was no easy task.

Apparently, Blake Lively was told that she was too "sunny California" after her first screen test.

Executive producer Josh Schwartz had her back and was able to convince the networks to give Blake another chance. 

She went in for another screen test, this time dressed completely different from her original look, and landed the part!

9. It's hard to believe that someone as talented as Steve Buscemi would need more than one audition, but it's true.

Even though he had a minor role in Miller's Crossing, he was told to audition twice for the part. 

Things worked out because from there he went on to star in some major hits!

10. It seems as though Alexis Bledel was made to play Rory Gilmore, but directors weren't so sure at first.

Apparently Alexis had a bad cold during her audition so she wasn't giving it her all. Thankfully there was a backup tape showcasing her crazy skills and that helped convince the directors to pick her!

11. Lisa Kudrow is best known as Phoebe Buffay on Friends.

She was the only one out of all the Friends to have to audition twice for the role. If there was any hesitation about Lisa playing the part, we're glad they changed their minds

12. Ed Harris had only played small roles before he was cast in The Right Stuff.

Because he was up for such a major role, he was so nervous and "didn't do a very good job."

He got his second chance when he was asked to come back for another audition and nailed it!

13. John Boyega plays Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

His auditions consisted of several intense rounds that actually lasted seven months. 

He actually compared it to "The X-Factor but without the TV show around it." 

14. Megan Mullally plays Karen on Will & Grace, although she had originally auditioned for the part of Grace.

The audition went so poorly that the producers simply "stared blankly" at her.

Thankfully she was given the chance to try for a different role and things worked in her favor! 

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