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Ryan Reynolds auditioned for a Coen brothers film and it didn't go to plan

It's not all fun and games for Hollywood actors

Jacob Stolworthy
Wednesday 30 November 2016 14:34 GMT
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It's been a good year for Ryan Reynolds, the actor who was also a producing force behind the success of Deadpool, which ranks as one of 2016’s biggest films.

Still, it’s handy to remember that it's not continually the life of Riley for Hollywood actors however much it seems like it might be. Reynolds, for example, still has to audition for film roles and he's detailed how one such experience saw him turned down by the Coen brothers.

Speaking as part of Variety's “Actors on Actors” interview series, Reynolds recounted his most recent audition to Taraji P Henson.

“It wasn’t the right fit, mostly because they’re very high-class. They were just quietly shaking their heads, like, ‘What are you doing here? Do you have a SAG card?’”

While the actor didn't go into specifics about which film he was trying out for, it's a fair bet to assume it was for the directing duo's most recent film Hail, Caesar! which was released earlier this year.

It's not even too much of a stretch to imagine it being for the all-singing-all-dancing role that eventually went to Channing Tatum (who, in fairness, did a memorable job).

Hail Caesar! Channing Tatum performs No Dames

Henson - who has picked up numerous awards for her role of matriarch Loretha "Cookie" Lyon in TV series Empire - revealed that she auditioned to play Olivia Pope in Shonda Rhimes' Scandal, a role that eventually went to Kerry Washington.

Reynolds will star in Deadpool 2, a sequel which saw controversy when original director Tim Miller dropped out due to “creative differences”. John Wick's David Leitch was announced as his replacement last week.

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