17 Actors Who Went Out Of Their Way To Lie, Scheme, And Gamble To Get A Role

Jimmy Henton
Feb 13, 2023
Feb 13, 2023

Have you ever lied on your CV or résumé? Hollywood is not without its share of liars. The tendency of lying to acquire a significant role is fairly frequent in the film industry, thus truth could be weirder than fiction.

Many A-list actors from movies and television have lied about a number of personal aspects to land jobs. Ben Affleck had to spend $20,000 on dental treatment for Armageddon because Michael Bay, the film's director, felt he had "baby teeth." For a full week, the actor was required to see the dentist eight hours every day.
While lying generally isn't a good thing, these particular lies have either resulted in a movie or TV program that has propelled their careers forward or helped them break out of a creative rut. Below are 17 actors who went out of their way to lie, scheme, and gamble to get a part in a movie.

#1 Brian d'Arcy James "wanted to do everything [he] could to get" a part in First Man, but they were having a hard time envisioning him as an M15 pilot. So he borrowed an Air Force jumpsuit from the Dark Phoenix costumer, borrowed a plane from his friend David Turner, and did a photo shoot to show the casting directors.

Source: Shannon Finney / Getty Images

Brian told Backstage, "Long story short, [David] was able to help me get a friend of his who owns an airport, and who strangely also happens to be a semiprofessional photographer, to take a little bit of his day and do a makeshift photo shoot of me standing next to a plane in a fighter pilot costume so I could just show them. 'Look, if you're having a hard time envisioning what I would look like, let me show you.' And it worked!"

#2 Director Michael Bay "always liked low shots that kinda come right under your chin and make you [look] a little bit heroic," but he believed the actor "kinda had these baby teeth." for Armageddon, so Ben Affleck had to undergo $20,000 worth of dental treatment.

Source: Touchstone / Courtesy Everett Collection

Michael stated on the Armageddon DVD commentary, "After using a very well-known actor to replace teeth in an aircraft movie, Jerry [Bruckheimer, the producer] reasoned, "We did it to him, why not do it to Ben?" Ben spent a week, eight hours every day, in the chair at my dentist's office."

#3 Jada Pinkett Smith "went method" by taking the identity of Fish Mooney when she first met producer Danny Cannon for her Gotham audition. She had a young man on a leash who was shirtless and was dressed in a long gown and a short wig. Additionally, the word "LIAR" was written in lipstick across his forehead.

Source: Jessica Miglio / © Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

#4 Jodie Comer's future co-star Sandra Oh brought in props for their eight-page sequence, including a blueberry pie, when she had her callback for Killing Eve. By the time they were through, Jodie had finished half the pie since the script demanded that her character, Villanelle, be eating.

Source: Ludovic Robert / © BBC America / Courtesy Everett Collection

She told BUILD Series, "[Villanelle] loves life, and I think she loves her food ... but yeah, I felt a little bit sick when I left that audition."

#5 When Lin-Manuel Miranda was contemplating Andrew Garfield for Tick, Tick... Boom, he inquired about the actor's singing ability from Greg Miele, his massage therapist and a close friend of Andrew's. Greg phoned Andrew and lied about having a great voice. Andrew subsequently enrolled in singing and piano classes for a year.

Source: Macall Polay / © Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection

#6 Jessica Biel purchased a 19th-century princess dress an hour before her last audition for The Illusionist, and she arrived "fully decked from head to toe."

Source: Yari Film Group Releasing / Courtesy Everett Collection

She told the Chicago Tribune, "And it worked. I thought, Either I'm gonna be totally laughed at or they're gonna love it. One or the other. And I have no inhibitions at this moment and put it out there. And I walked in and I think there was a little shock at first and a little bit like, 'Oh god, no.' And then Michael London said, 'Oh, thank god. At least we have one costume out of the way.' It put me at ease. I was like, 'Awww. You love it. OK.'"

#7 Chloe Grace Moretz informed Martin Scorsese she was British at the director's urging after being cast in the movie Hugo. She made up an entire backstory about growing up in Cambridgeshire with parents who were horse breeders.

Source: Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

On The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, she said, "I ended up booking the part, and it wasn't really until much later in production that he realized I was not British. ... I think my mom's Southern accent kind of gave the whole 'horse breeding' [thing] away."

#8 Idris Elba followed the suggestion of casting director Alexa Fogel and claimed to be an American during his The Wire audition since the show's creator, David Simon, didn't want to recruit non-American performers.

Source: HBO / Via youtube.com

But when Idris showed up for his fourth audition, he felt compelled to be honest.
He commented on Hot Ones, "My parents told me not to lie — you gotta look someone in the eye and be honest."

#9 Vilhelm Blomgren was told to enter the woods 30 meters before beginning the scenario for his Midsommar self-tape.

Source: A24 / Via youtube.com

#10 Julia Garner had to through a difficult audition procedure known as "Madonna boot camp" in order to get the main part in Madonna's self-directed biography. It apparently included additional dancing, reading, and singing lessons with Madonna in addition to 11-hour sessions with the pop star's choreographer.

Source: Axelle / FilmMagic / Getty Images, Kevin Mazur / Getty Images

For the role, Julia outperformed performers including Florence Pugh, Alexa Demie, and Emma Laird.
However, as Madonna revealed her planned world tour, Universal Pictures apparently canceled the biography.

#11 Thelma and Louise's script was "the best script [she'd] ever read," but the two protagonists had already been chosen. She had her agency phone producer Ridley Scott every week for a year to let him know she was available, but the auditions kept being canceled.

Source: Fotos International / Getty Images

Geena told Allison Kugel, "Then, when [Ridley] decided he was going to direct it, he immediately said, 'Yes. Okay, sure, I'll meet with her,' and I convinced him somehow or another."

#12 Lea Michele "got into a massive car crash outside of the Fox lot" on the way to her Glee audition, totaling her vehicle. She nonetheless made the decision to go forward, and when she saw the casting directors, she "was still pulling pieces of glass out of [her] hair"

#13 Samuel L. Jackson agreed to allow Marvel Comics to continue using his likeness in return for the right to portray Nick Fury in any upcoming on-screen adaptations after he learned that he was the inspiration for comic book writer Mark Millar's new Nick Fury.

#14 Jameela Jamil "told the casting director that [she] had acting experience, which was a lie." during her The Good Place audition. She also misled the show's creator Michael Schur when he inquired about her background in improv comedy. He was informed that she had "done loads of that on the theater in England!"

Source: Colleen Hayes / NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

She told CNBC Make It, "I got so lucky with that audition, and I got to have an amazing cast to work [with], and I got to learn how to act from Ted Danson — and Mike Schur is the greatest boss of all time."

#15 Despite having never ridden a horse before, Anne Hathaway told director Ang Lee she was an excellent horseback rider after her Brokeback Mountain audition. She "knew [she] had to learn to ride, and [she] got really, really, really good." before the filming.

Source: Focus Films / Everett Collection

She told Out, "But I was given a horse on set without being told it was a verbal-command horse, so I couldn't figure out how to make it ride. And I went to a rehearsal in front of 300 extras, all of whom work in rodeos, and the horse wouldn't do a damn thing I wanted it to. And at the end, it threw me — in front of everyone."

#16 Paul Mescal had to covertly learn to drive after landing his role in Normal People since his agency had falsely claimed that he had a license.

Paul told Entertainment Weekly, "My agent was like, 'We are not losing this job over you not being able to drive, so I'll tell production that you can, and in the meantime, you go off and rattle through as many lessons as you can.'"

#17 Margot Robbie had a hard time keeping up with Leonardo DiCaprio's improvisation during their audition for The Wolf of Wall Street. She approached him, thought about kissing him, then decided to take a big risk and smacked him in the face while screaming, "Fuck you!"

She told Harper's Bazaar, "The room just went dead silent and I froze. I'm thinking, You just hit Leonardo DiCaprio in the face. They're going to arrest you because that's assault. You're definitely never going to work again, that's for sure. They'll probably sue you as well in case there's a bruise on his face and he needs to film something else. And then all of a sudden, [director Martin Scorsese] and Leo just burst out laughing. Marty says, 'That was great!' Leo's like, 'Hit me again!'"

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