25 actresses who had to face unpleasant situations during auditions (26 photos)

It goes a long way before a movie or TV show hits our screen. One of the first stages is auditioning for the role. Unfortunately, auditions are not always pleasant, especially for actresses... There are many known cases of inappropriate treatment of women during casting.





Today we will talk about what these brave actresses had to endure. And we praise them for succeeding in their careers against all odds.

1. Emma Thompson Was Told She Was Too Old To Star With Hugh Grant



When Emma Thompson auditioned for the role in Sense and Sensibility, some thought she was too old for her co-star Hugh Grant. This was a ridiculous statement, because in fact the age difference between the actors is only a year: Emma was born in 1959, and Hugh in 1960.

2. Gwyneth Paltrow was invited to meet in the bedroom after the audition



Gwyneth Paltrow has opened up about an indecent proposal she received at an audition early in her career. After the audition, a man from the casting team suggested that she “continue in the bedroom.” She was shocked and simply left, never stopping to think that someone else in her place might have been scared and agreed.

3. Meryl Streep was called ugly in Italian



In 1976, Meryl Streep was just an aspiring actress on Broadway. At that time, the son of Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis Sr. was preparing to film King Kong, and Meryl caught his attention.

When she came to audition, Dino De Laurentiis Sr. told his son that she was ugly, in Italian, thinking that she would not understand him. But Meryl knew Italian and understood. She made it clear that she understood his words and added: “I wish I was pretty enough to be in King Kong.”

4. Judi Dench was told that her face was very bad



During one of the first auditions of her career, Judi Dench was told that there was “nothing wrong with her face at all.” It was also said that because of this, she will most likely not act in any films.

5. While auditioning for the role of lawyer Tracee Ellis, Ross was forced to dress like a woman going to a nightclub.



Tracee Ellis Ross once auditioned for the role of a Harvard-educated lawyer on a television show. She wore a skirt suit and heels to the audition. But according to the casting experts, it didn't suit her, so they made her try on a lot of other clothes. In the end, they chose the shortest skirt she brought and one of the T-shirts from the employee from the office.

And this was not the end. She was also forced to wear someone else's bra, which was too small. The actress never ceased to wonder: “What did I just allow myself to do?” She got the role, but she was dressed like she was going to a nightclub. This left Tracee Ellis Ross feeling confused and humiliated.

6. Thandie Newton was photographed upskirt and told to think about the guy making love to her.



Thandie Newton talks about how, during one of her auditions, the director filming her upskirt asked her to touch her breasts while she thought about the guy making love to her in the scene. She thought it was a little strange, but didn't say anything at the time.

She later learned the unpleasant truth about this scene: “It turns out that the director showed this audition tape to his friends after a poker game at his home. That's how they had fun."

7. Helen Mirren said one director treated her “like a piece of meat”



Helen Mirren said director Michael Winner treated her "like a piece of meat" during casting in 1964. He ordered her to turn around and expose her body. The actress said she was outraged by his actions the day it happened and is still angry. The director tried to justify his actions by saying that he remembered asking her to stand up, but did not rememberasked her to turn around. And if he asked, it was probably as a joke.

8. Reese Witherspoon was told to dress sexier to prove she wasn't turning men off.



When Reese Witherspoon was preparing to audition for Legally Blonde, her manager told her she had to dress “sexy” to get the casting director interested. For some reason he considered her “obstinate” and repulsive to men. He just couldn't separate her from her Upstart character, Tracy Flick.

9. Jennifer Aniston was advised to lose 15 kilograms



When Jennifer Aniston was trying to make a career in Hollywood, she was told that she needed to lose 15 kg. She wasn't hired because she was "too heavy." At one audition, where she was forced to wear a swimsuit, she was sure that because of this she would not see the role.

She admitted that her eating habits at the time were not ideal: she was constantly eating milkshakes and French fries with gravy. And yet she was not overweight. After all these tips, she actually lost weight and became a fitness and healthy lifestyle fanatic.

10. Casting directors said they weren't sure Gina Rodriguez was sexy enough for the role.



At one audition, Gina Rodriguez was told that the casting directors liked her, but they weren't sure she was sexy enough. That's why she has to come in a tight black dress. Not for the sake of the character. They explained that they needed to make sure she was beautiful enough to be on the cover of the magazine.

The actress says that it was very humiliating, although at that time she was already a professional in the industry and had played many diverse roles.

11. Rose McGowan was encouraged to wear tight clothing and a push-up bra



When Rose McGowan was invited to audition for one of Adam Sandler's films, she was given a script to read and a note about what she should wear to the audition - a dark, tight tank top that showed off her cleavage. In addition, producers told the actress that push-up bras are also welcome. Rose refused the audition and wrote on social media about sexism in the film industry.

12. Lana Condor Was Told She Should Be More Like Hello Kitty



At one audition, Lana Condor, an American actress originally from Vietnam, was told to “be more like Hello Kitty.” The actress was shocked, noting that Hello Kitty has no mouth. Thus, she believes, the casting director showed himself to be an ignorant racist and tried to deny her the right to vote. This offended her greatly.

13. Emmy Rossum was invited to an audition where all she was required to do was wear a bikini.



Emmy Rossum once planned to audition for the role of a character who was not seen naked or in a bikini in the film. But at the audition, the actress was asked to appear in a bikini, and it was all an audition - she was not required to act in anything. Apparently the director wanted to know if she was fat, and she was told, “We really like your work, but we just want to see how firm your ass is.”

14. Sophie Turner constantly received comments about the need to lose weight, even though it was not required for her character



Sophie Turner began her acting career by playing Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones. At that time she was only 15 years old. Unfortunately, the actress said that from time to time she has received comments during auditions that she needs to lose weight, although this has nothing to do with the character she is auditioning for.

15. Lisa Rinna was told to pull down her panties and bend over for the role.



When Lisa Rinna was 24 years old, she had a terrible casting experience. The producer told her: “Just pull down your panties and bend over, and the part is yours.” The actress refused. The role went to another actress.

16. Varalaxmi Sarathkumar was asked to talk not about work, but about “other things”



Bollywood star Varalaxmi Sarathkumar arrived for negotiations with one of the leaders of the television company. At the end of the conversation, he asked her: “When can we meet outside the house?” The actress asked if it was about some other work, but the TV boss replied with a smug smile on his face: “No, no! Not for work... for other things.” The actress called this situation “the tip of the iceberg.”

17. Sandra Oh was advised to "go home"



Sandra Oh says the worst advice she ever received was, "Go back home and be famous, and then go back to L.A. and see how it goes."

18. Lena Headley learned that sometimes men on the casting team choose women based on the principle of “who they would like to have sex with.”



Lena Headley said that in her twenties she often recorded audition tapes. And one casting director told her: "Men take these tapes home, watch them and ask each other: 'Which one of them would you fuck?'"

The actress said she refuses to play the game of “going to auditions and flirting,” and she is happy that she has lost several roles because of it.

19. Ashley Benson Was Told To Lose Weight When She Was A Size 2/XS



When Ashley Benson was told she needed to lose weight for the role, something she was told almost constantly, she asked, “Wait, what? Do you need a skeleton? She had the second size - XS, or 40th.

20. Sophia Bush had to go through three auditions to match the sexiness the casting directors were looking for.



Sophia Bush auditioned for her role in One Tree Hill three times due to the casting directors' absurd requests. At her first audition she was told she wasn't sexy enough, and at her second audition she was told she was too sexy. So only the third time was successful.

21. Goldie Hawn was tricked into going to an audition that was actually a sexual encounter.



When Goldie Hawn was 19 years old, she went to an audition, but it turned out to be something else entirely. Cartoonist Al Capp took off his business clothes and came into the room in a robe. When she sat down, he wanted to kiss her, but the actress refused. When she left, she didn't have the money to go back to the 1964 World's Fair in New York, where she was dancing at the time, so he gave her $20 for a taxi. Recalling this situation, the actress said: “It was not the best day.”

22. Kristen Bell was told she wasn't pretty or weird enough



Kristen Bell has revealed that early in her career she was told she wasn't pretty enough to play pretty girls and wasn't quirky enough to play weird girls. According to the actress, such comments often confuse her.

23. January Jones was asked to "do a pole dance without a pole"



January Jones has spoken out about an incident during her second audition for Bar's Coyote Ugly that left her horrified. After she read for the role, Jerry Bruckheimer wanted her to do a pole dance without a pole on a table to Prince's song "Kiss."

He later told her that she was a great reader but had no rhythm, prompting the actress to call her agent and say she didn't want to do it anymore.

24. Camila Mendes was told she didn't have much polish.



When Camila Mendes auditioned for Riverdale, she was told she wasn't "glossy" enough for the network because her hair was frizzy due to the rain. She was asked to return in a few days. And she returned. To do this, she asked her friend to do her makeup to look radiant.

25. Kerry Washington was told she looked like a child and wasn't sexy enough



Kerry Washington once wore a jumpsuit to an audition. As a resultTata told her that she looked like a child and was not sexy, so she was not suitable for the role.