Being a working actor in Hollywood usually requires a lot of running around and auditioning; and Brie Larson (Room, Captain Marvel) has used her new Youtube channel to explore the trials and tribulations of securing a role for a big budget Hollywood movie – not to mention all of the rejection that goes on behind the scenes.
Recently Brie revealed that she had struggled with a flat tire on the day of her “Terminator Reboot” audition; obviously we knew, from following the 5th production closely, that Brie tried out for the role of Sarah Connor in 2015’s Terminator Genisys.
Ms. Larson has now gone into the specifics of why she didn’t get the role, and, surprisingly, the reasoning is rather ridiculous… especially when the casting on the movie left a lot to be desired.
“So quickly, “Terminator”. I tested for it. While I was pulling into the audition for it, I got a flat tire, I did my audition. A couple of days later I found out that I didn’t get it, and I got no feedback whatsoever other than just ‘no’ it wasn’t gonna happen, and I was always like “What? Why didn’t I get that?” Like, I felt like I did a really good job, I didn’t understand, and then, like months later, my manager called, and was like: “Listen. We got the feedback finally, and what it was, was they said that you- they didn’t think,” um, “that you knew how to carry a gun”, and I was like *sighs* “Ohhh… okay, that would make sense if I carried a gun in the audition…”
Brie Larson
So, as Brie stated, the big reason she lost out on the role wasn’t due to her acting ability, or setback due to nerves or anything like that but it was due to the fact that the casting team didn’t think she was capable of holding a gun… without even asking her to actually hold a gun in the audition.
“I’d never held a gun. I mean, I’m grateful, ’cause I don’t wanna hold a gun in a movie but um, I just thought it was funny that, in their head, they thought I couldn’t hold the gun, so I didn’t get the job,”
Brie Larson
In all honesty? It just sounds like an easy out for the production; a good number of capable actresses tried out for the role but the studios (Skydance Media / Paramount Pictures) didn’t really hide the fact that they had their eye on Emilia Clarke from the offset – something they mentioned more than once…
Terminator Genisys Producer, David Ellison, told Den of Geek back in 2015 that:
“As for Emilia Clarke, I’ve loved Game Of Thrones. It redefines what is possible in television, and Emilia has a sense of strength and nobility that you simply can’t teach. When it came to talking about who our Sarah Connor would be, there was only one name that was ever discussed, and she’s an amazing, completely different and new version of the character who we love.”
David Ellison
There’s nothing wrong with studios / directors / writers etc. having a vision for who will embody the lead roles in their movies, it’s something which happens all the time in Hollywood – the issue here is the mixed messaging and the way that actors were potentially rejected from a role due to a predetermined outcome / favoritism.
What do you think of the reason Brie Larson lost the role of Sarah Connor in Terminator Genisys?
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7 Comments
If it’s just a favoritism, it seems unfair to me, as I thought it was a bad choice to put JAI COURTNEY as Kile Resse. Terminator Genesis didn’t seem like a bad movie to me, it had errors in the script. REMEMBER the resemblance of the actors always influences, they should add In addition, in the first 3 films the t-800 had dark eyes (because he was a robot) The fact that Kile Resse had brown eyes in the first one already presented him as a more intelligent character, not a cute model Like Genesis’s Kile Resse (the productor could have put JAY COURTNEY on dark contact lenses). In real life it may not be like that, but in the cinema it is. If you want to make a new movie with Brie Larson you can do it but I still believe that she gives more to characterize a Terminator, than to play Sarah Connor.Brie is a hard, cold girl, Sarah(Linda Hamilton) was a dreamer that after she hardened her character with fury they, are different. But it’s just an opinion, and I may be wrong.
Aside from the script issues, Emilia Clarke didn’t do a bad job, she was a fine actress and fit for the role (at least the scripted role). Brie Larson could do a good (evento better) job, but as Emilia had all the spotlight then, they wouldn’t miss the oportunity of casting her. The worst actor, tho, was the beef steak shovel face Jai Courtney. I mean, Kyle Reese?? Come on!!
That’s a shame. Still, it could have ruined her career, even if she was good.
Why couldn’t they have jus told her that they wanted to go a different direction?
In my subjective view Emilia Clarke has slight face similarities with Linda Hamilton, and I think she was not bad, but Jai Courtney casting was total mess
Neither one of them could use weapons in a masterful way – the guns Emilia was carrying were as big, if not, bigger than her. That was an issue for me. She’s a tiny person.
But out of the two of them. I would have cast Emilia. She has eyes that resemble Linda Hamilton’s and frankly, Brie doesn’t really look anything like Linda.
If Brie Larson didn’t want to hold a gun in a movie why the HELL did she audition for the part of Sarah Connor in terminator? Did anybody stop to think that maybe they told her they didn’t think she could hold a gun because she had already expressed her discomfort with holding one? They explained that Emilia had a sense of nobility, and that’s so true. Brie does not have that. All she does is whine and be a terrible actor.