All major film production stages audition during the pre-production stage to cast both major and minor characters. Audition tapes are relatively short clips in which actors can perform dialogue or monologue for the character they want to play. Sometimes actors audition for one role and end up in the shoes of a completely different character. An actor’s audition tape is like a video resume, and some of the biggest names in Hollywood had auditions that prove exactly why they are stars today.
6 Gabourey Sidibe – Precious
The indie drama hybrid, Wonderfulwhich was released in 2009 Gabourey Sidibe on the map by showing off her acting talents on her audition tape. Wonderful is a film about a young girl who comes from an abusive household, but rises above oppression, both internal and external, to build a better life for herself. Sidibe was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance. Since then, she has been a long-time cast member American horror storybest known for her character Queenie in the third season, Covenwhich is a beloved fan favorite.
5 Millie Bobby Brown – Stranger Things
At age 11 Millie Bobby Brown shocked the Duffer Brothers and the casting director of Stranger things with the emotional depth she was able to achieve in her audition tape. Brown filmed herself reciting the rules of the Elf, gradually breaking down into tears. The young star is about to wrap up the epic series, leaving Eleven and Hawkins behind, but her career is just getting started. On top of filming stranger things, Brown is the face of another Netflix hit, Enola Holmeswhich just released its sequel at the end of 2022 and is currently waiting for confirmation of one possible third movie. She has also been in several Godzilla movies and has two new movies scheduled for release in 2023 and 2024.
4 Rachel McAdams – The notebook
Rachel McAdams made her film debut in 2002 when she appeared as Jessica in the body-swap comedy, The pretty girl. From there, she rose to cult fame as the movie’s ultimate bad girl, Regina George in Mean girls. However, it wasn’t until then that her role came in The notebook that she won the hearts of millions and really showed her acting talent. McAdams auditioned for the role of Allie Hamilton during a brief stint in Los Angeles where she read opposite Ryan Gosling. McAdams almost immediately won the part, but it is precisely because of this role that she has reached the level of stardom she has today. Since 2004, she has appeared in dramas, romances, comedies and even action movies.
3 Daniel Radcliffe – Harry Potter
The casting for the Harry Potter franchise was one that really had to take the time to find the right actors to slip into their roles with ease. According to HuffPost, casting the right Harry was so important because the world was already so familiar with “the boy who lived” due to the immense success of the books. The roles for Ron and Hermione were fulfilled before Harry, and when Daniel Radcliffe auditioned, he showed his ability to play both the boy Harry is and the man he is destined to become. However, HuffPost also cited that the moment Radcliffe met his new co-stars Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, real magic happened. The conversation between the three child actors served as the ultimate thumbs up that iconic decisions were made.
2 Aaron Paul – Breaking Bad
AMCs Break bad is easily one of the best television series ever made, introducing some of the network’s most iconic characters. However, Aaron Paul‘s audition wasn’t nearly as successful as the show turned out to be. According to acting magazine, Paul bombed his audition and even forgot one of his lines. The only reason he was put on the show was because creator Vince Gilligan liked him so much that he chose him despite everyone’s disapproval. Since then, Paul has won an Emmy and starred in several films in which he is the main character. He’s the perfect example that an actor shouldn’t always be judged on one bad mistake during an audition, and Break bad certainly wouldn’t have been the same without him.
Henry Thomas has become a series regular in Mike Flannigan’s Netflix hits The Ghost of Hill House, The Ghost of Bly Manor, And Midnight Mass. His biggest break, however, was in Steven Spielberg’s 1982 blockbuster ET the alien. Thomas plays a young boy who finds and befriends an alien who has been accidentally left behind on Earth. The movie ends with a heartbreaking scene where the two have to get a divorce in order for E.T. to survive. The only way to pull it off was to have a child actor capable of delivering such an emotionally heavy sequence. According to Oscars.Org, Thomas had the members in the audition room in tears by the time he finished correcting his lines and was offered the job by Spielberg before he even left the room. Thomas’s audition is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but the feeling he gave in that room all those years ago is the exact same reason he’s still relevant today.