Being an actor is full of adventure, but it also comes with some tough realities. The first is the amount of rejection one must endure, and then there are the inevitable casting calls and auditions that go sideways. 

Actors tell their audition war stories like sailors on the high seas. The bad audition tales reflect personal and pivotal moments in their career, and through their sharing, they let other actors know they’re not alone in their struggles. 

Here are several famous actors who’ve suffered through cringe-worthy moments in the audition room and ventured back to tell the tale.

Jennifer Garner

This instance had nothing to do with a bad acting audition, but instead came down to attire choice, or lack thereof. 

Party Down star Jennifer Garner recalled her worst audition on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. As a new actor, she stuck to callback wardrobe protocol, making sure to wear the same outfit she wore at her first call. However, after being asked to return for the same role four times, she wore the same outfit each time, and casting took note of her limited wardrobe.

Casting wanted to bring her back for more auditions, but asked her agent if she had “any other clothes?” Mortified at the memory, Garner confirmed that she “didn’t get the job.” 

This bad audition experience proved to be a good learning experience, as Garner’s prolific career includes winning a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of CIA officer Sydney Bristow in the spy-action thriller Alias.

Eddie Redmayne

Fantastic Beasts actor Eddie Redmayne has received much acclaim for his performances in films like The Theory of Everything, for which he won an Oscar. That said, A-list actors like Redmayne are only human and have experienced their share of bad auditions. 

While promoting the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the actor recalled a bad audition story for the part of Kylo Ren in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. “With films that are top secret, they don’t give you the actual lines,” Redmayne said in an interview with Uproxx. “So they give you a scene from Pride and Prejudice, but then they tell you you’re auditioning for the baddie. If you’re me, you then put some ridiculous voice on.” 

Redmayne adopted Darth Vader’s vocal style while attempting to pull off the villainous Kylo Ren. After about 10 of persisting with this creative choice, the casting director asked Redmayne, “You got anything else?” 

This was not the first time Redmayne would make this gaffe. While auditioning for The Hobbit‘s Bilbo Baggins, he again emulated another actor’s performance. This time he copied Ian Holm’s Bilbo from The Lord of the Rings, creating a bad experience for all. 

“I thought I was being brave, you know,” he said, only to be immediately interrupted by the casting director who told him, “No, no, no! Own voice! Own voice!” He was not called back.

Aaron Paul

In an Actors on Actors interview, Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul recounted a Cloverfield audition that turned into a nightmarish experience. Paul’s ability to recall the three pages of the monologue he was given was crippled after the film’s producer asked him to recount a horrible audition story from the past involving a failed magic trick and Tom Cruise.

Normally one to fight through to the end, Paul quit. It’s the only audition Paul has ever given up on.

Dave Franco

Love Lies Bleeding actor Dave Franco recalled a time from his earliest audition days when he was asked to slate before exiting his audition. Franco was so new to the acting game that he didn’t understand the term “slate,” instead thinking he was asked to “sleep.” Doing his best to accommodate the casting director’s request, he tilted his head back and closed his eyes.

David Harbour

David Harbour is famous for his portrayal of Chief Jim Hopper in Netflix’s Stranger Things, for which he’s received Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. 

In 2003, the Gran Turismo actor experienced a humiliating stage audition for the jukebox musical The Boys from Oz starring Hugh Jackman. Although Harbour is a talented actor, he is not one for singing. When he was invited to meet with Jackman in New York for a potential role in the play, Harbour said he’d only consider meeting as long as there was no singing required. 

With the assurance he wouldn’t be asked to sing, Harbour traveled to meet with Jackman. Once he arrived for the audition opportunity, however, Harbour was shocked when he was thrust on stage with sheet music in hand and told to sing. 

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