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Witness the moments when actors brought their A-game to auditions, transforming nervous readings into unforgettable performances. From Disney stars to Hollywood legends, these auditions showcased raw talent and unique charisma that sealed their fate. Watch how they went beyond the script, proving they were meant for those iconic roles and setting the stage for remarkable careers.
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00:00I am empowered to take that alien with me.
00:02But you can't take him away, he's mine.
00:05Welcome to Miss Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the auditions that didn't just land an actor a job,
00:11they let everyone know they were a force to be reckoned with.
00:14You did the hacker?
00:16That's the coolest audition I've ever seen.
00:19Number 10, Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana.
00:22The Disney star-turned-pop icon gave new meaning to the word persistence.
00:26She chased the leading spot on Hannah Montana for months, eventually recording multiple audition tapes.
00:31They said I was too young, too small, kind of put me aside, and I wasn't even auditioning for Hannah, I was auditioning for Lily.
00:37And then they were like, you know, do this, and they're still too small, and it kept going.
00:40Even when they said no, I was like, no, one more chance, and it turned into like 20 more chances.
00:44There's a world of difference between her auditions for the role.
00:47The first is too preppy, and too concerned with being what the creators want.
00:51Well, that's also so sweet, but a tiny bit suspicious.
00:56Let's see what the finger thinks.
00:58Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep.
01:03Well, the finger doesn't believe you.
01:05I just can't go, okay?
01:07The second time around, she is almost eerily confident and grounded,
01:11able to toss off the written jokes like she's coming up with them on the fly.
01:15By the time of her final audition, it's as if she's already in front of a live audience.
01:19Number nine, Seth Rogen, Freaks and Geeks.
01:37Last year, right? You're that chick who got an A.
01:40Yeah, well, what are you gonna do?
01:44I don't know. What are you gonna do?
01:48Watching this one season wonder now almost feels surreal.
01:51Much of the Freaks and Geeks ensemble went on to become major heavy hitters in film and television
01:55after the show came to an abrupt and undeserving end.
01:59But from the start, Seth Rogen's casual way with hilarious lines is evident.
02:02I have some thoughts, but I'm weighing my options.
02:07What are those options?
02:10Well, I could work my ass off on a freighter like my dad.
02:14Or become a farmer.
02:16His audition tape for the role of the sarcastic Ken Miller is proof of the actor's unmistakable charisma.
02:22Effortlessly funny and confident, everything we know of him as a performer is right there from the jump.
02:27Despite still being a teenager at the time, he's already got the essential ingredients that would make him a star.
02:33Yeah?
02:34That's why when some idiot teacher tells me I'm not living up to my potential,
02:38just smile because I know I am.
02:41Number eight, Will Ferrell, Saturday Night Live.
02:43Correct me if I'm wrong, but my character, Jack Scanty,
02:47is the type of guy that could be a neighbour or a work buddy,
02:51the type of guy who rolls up his sleeve and says,
02:53Hey, I got a job to do, I'm gonna do it.
02:56TV Guide ranked him as the second best SNL cast member of all time.
03:01Coming in second to a legend like Eddie Murphy can't feel too bad.
03:04Will Ferrell's brilliance is clear in his original audition tape.
03:07I took a 12 and I was fine after that, but boy, you're right, that whole...
03:12If you don't get off the shed in two seconds,
03:16I'm gonna shove this spatula into orifices you didn't know you had.
03:21Now get off the shed!
03:23But yeah, anybody want a burger? Who wants a burger?
03:26The SNL audition process is fabled for the sheer terror it inspires.
03:30Lorne Michaels and the producers are a famously tough audience.
03:34Performing on the famed 8-H stage,
03:36Ferrell manages to not just get laughs,
03:38but some actual applause for his impressions
03:40and two hilarious original characters.
03:43Both of these new creations would make it onto the show.
03:46Tell Don Jacobs to hold.
03:47Yes, no, I'm busy. Thank you.
03:56Number 7, Emma Stone, EZA.
03:58Before she became a Hollywood powerhouse,
04:01the star of La La Land and Poor Things
04:02was a dependable supporting performer in popular comedies.
04:05With EZA, she proved she was a movie star in her own right.
04:09The role required her to sling witticisms
04:10and young millennial awkwardness
04:12like it's coming out of her skin.
04:14From her very first webcam self-tape,
04:16which is directed straight to camera,
04:19she is remarkable.
04:20Let the record show that I,
04:22Olive Pendergast,
04:23being of sound mind,
04:24ample-ish breast size,
04:27and the occasional corny knock-knock joke,
04:28do enter this video blog as evidence
04:31in the case against me.
04:32And because I'm being judged by a jury of my peers,
04:34I will attempt to insert like and totally as much as possible.
04:38So, here it goes.
04:39She is a natural.
04:40There's nothing even remotely performative about her.
04:43It's the true start to one of modern Hollywood's
04:45most accomplished and varied careers.
04:47Let me begin by saying that there are two sides to every story.
04:51And this is my side.
04:53The right one.
04:54Like, totally.
04:56Number 6, Gabourey Sidibe, Precious.
04:59Clarice Precious Jones is a role that requires an actor
05:02who can handle some deep emotional depths.
05:04It was also Gabourey Sidibe's first film role.
05:07Every day I tell myself,
05:09if something's gonna happen,
05:12hey, I'm gonna break through.
05:15If somebody's gonna break through to me.
05:17The amount of confidence that produces Tyler Perry
05:19and Oprah Winfrey and director Lee Daniels
05:22placed in her is truly special.
05:23And that's exactly the feeling when you see her audition tape.
05:27I'm tired, Miss Payne.
05:29I know you are, but you can't stop now.
05:33You've gotta fight through this.
05:34You still have to live your life
05:36and do the best you can with the hand you've been dealt.
05:39If not for yourself, then for the people who love you.
05:42That's a lie.
05:43Nobody loved me.
05:44People do love you, Precious.
05:46Sidibe transforms into the character before our eyes.
05:49The scene she reads is particularly heavy,
05:52and her sobbing confession is pretty breathtaking.
05:55Once the movie was released,
05:56she joined an elite club of people
05:58Oscar-nominated for their screen debut.
06:01You don't even like me.
06:02Have we not been in this room together
06:05for like a year discussing your life?
06:08Does that mean we like each other
06:10because we discussed my life?
06:12I can't speak for you.
06:13I can only speak for me.
06:15And I do like you.
06:17I do.
06:18Number five, Bill Skarsgård.
06:20It.
06:20He's a modern master of movie monsters.
06:22Bill Skarsgård brought Stephen King's snarling
06:25and shape-shifting killer clown back to life
06:28in the 2017 film,
06:29and he became an instant icon.
06:32I should get going now.
06:35Without you, Beau?
06:38You don't want to lose it, Georgie.
06:41Bill's gonna kill you.
06:42Producers were immediately locked in.
06:44The actor's read on the character
06:45was exactly what they had in mind.
06:47Is this your vote?
06:51It's a nice vote.
06:53Votes.
06:54From his creepy smile
06:56to his deceptively thoughtful manner,
06:58Skarsgård imbued Pennywise the Dancing Clown
07:00with a childish kind of evil
07:01that's just way too convincing.
07:04He's the kind of performer
07:05who can completely transform
07:06in the most hideous
07:07and instantly unforgettable ways.
07:10What do they call you?
07:12Georgie.
07:13Georgie.
07:15Now we aren't strangers, are we?
07:18Number four, Jason Momoa, Game of Thrones.
07:20To play Khal Drogo on the HBO series
07:23Barn Burner of a first season,
07:25the future Aquaman actor
07:26knew that he needed to make an impression.
07:28After all, this would be his biggest role to date.
07:30Do you see how he is Ares?
07:33When Dothraki are defeated in combat,
07:36they cut off their braid
07:37so the whole world can see their shame.
07:39Khal Drogo has never been defeated.
07:42Hawaiian actor Jason Momoa racked his brain
07:45trying to figure out how to convey
07:47the character's ferocity and strength
07:49without dialogue.
07:50He decided to do a traditional haka dance.
07:53I was very, I was unsure if I was going to do it.
07:55I asked my buddy and he's like,
07:56yeah, you got to do it.
07:57But it was weird because it was just
07:58two little nice ladies recording.
08:02And I'm like, oh,
08:04do you mind if I try something first
08:05before we do the audition?
08:06And they're like, oh, please be delighted.
08:08And then I just start getting into it,
08:11which is rather scary.
08:13It was so effective,
08:14the casting team made him do it again
08:16so they could film it.
08:17For an actor whose physical presence
08:19is as well known as his acting skills,
08:21it's a fitting beginning to an illustrious career.
08:33Number three, Matthew McConaughey,
08:35dazed and confused.
08:36All right, all right, all right.
08:39Oh, Christ.
08:41How you doing?
08:44Easy going David Wooderson
08:45gives new meaning to the word laid back.
08:48In the audition tape for his first major film role,
08:50Matthew McConaughey slips right into character.
08:53He oozes charisma,
08:54even when what he's saying
08:55is incredibly morally questionable.
08:57That's what I love about high school girls, man.
09:00I keep getting older,
09:01but they stay the same age.
09:03That's a movie star being born
09:04right before our eyes.
09:06There's a reason why his role in
09:07Days to Confused is so well regarded.
09:09Wooderson became a part of Matthew McConaughey's
09:12entire screen persona.
09:13You know an actor's done a great job
09:14when people are still quoting their character
09:16well over 30 years later.
09:19The older you do get,
09:20the more rules you're gonna try to get you to follow.
09:23You just gotta keep living, man.
09:25L-I-V-I-N.
09:27Number two, Rachel McAdams,
09:29The Notebook.
09:30Between this and Mean Girls,
09:32Rachel McAdams was about to blow up in a big way.
09:34Both movies proved that she could kill it
09:36with comedy or drama,
09:37but when she auditioned with co-star Ryan Gosling,
09:40she showed off major dramatic skills.
09:42I made a promise to a man.
09:44He gave me a ring and I gave him my word.
09:47And your word is shot to hell, don't you think?
09:49Well, I don't know.
09:50I'll find out when I talk to him.
09:51So you're not gonna break your promise?
09:52That's what this is about?
09:54I thought it was about following your heart, Al.
09:58You can hear the emotions in her quivering voice,
10:00and despite being relatively early
10:02in the process of discovering her character,
10:04she has a firm hold on her already.
10:06Haven't you been paying attention then for the past?
10:08What do you think's been happening here?
10:10I don't know.
10:10I think I must have misread the signal.
10:12Yeah, I guess you did.
10:13The rumor is that it was down to her
10:15and Britney Spears for the part of Ali in The Notebook.
10:17But McAdams' ability is undeniable.
10:20The fact that it's even better in the finished film
10:22is just more proof of her talent.
10:24I lost you once.
10:26I think I could do it again
10:27if I thought it's what you really wanted.
10:30But don't you take the easy way out.
10:32What easy way?
10:33There is no easy way.
10:34No matter what I do, somebody gets hurt.
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10:53Number 1. Henry Thomas
10:54E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
10:56The young actor at the center of director
10:58Steven Spielberg's science fiction classic is a marvel.
11:02At only 10 years old,
11:03Henry Thomas gave a tremendous performance
11:05that emotionally anchored E.T.
11:12Interestingly, Thomas didn't do well
11:13in his initial audition process.
11:15It was only after he was able to demonstrate his range
11:18in an improv that Spielberg offered him the job
11:20right there in the audition room.
11:22It's easy to see why.
11:24The tape is genuinely moving.
11:25You can't take him away. He's mine.
11:28But it's not my choice.
11:30The president asked me to come here and get him.
11:31I don't care what the president says.
11:34He's my best friend.
11:35And you can't take him away.
11:37You'd be forgiven if you forgot he was acting
11:39and just started bawling right along with him.
11:42And when he instantly snaps out of it,
11:44you realize you're watching a young master.
11:47That might make your whole day, huh?
11:49Might make your whole life, huh?
11:51Then he'd be your friend forever.
11:53And I wouldn't take him away.
11:55Okay, I'll get back.
11:58Okay, kid. You got the job.
11:59Which of these auditions did you think
12:03was the most impressive?
12:04Tell us in the comments.
12:06What about you? What do you want?
12:07It's not that simple.
12:09Yes, it is, Al.
12:09No, it's not.
12:10Yes, it is.
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