The Force was decidedly not with these celebs.

11 stars who totally bombed their Star Wars auditions: ‘I was trash that day’

The Force was decidedly not with these celebs.

By Brianna Zigler

June 23, 2026 2:22 p.m. ET

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Michael B Jordan; Glen Powell; Olivia Cooke. Credit:

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away... some actors did a very poor job during their *Star Wars* auditions.

Recently, *House of the Dragon* actress Olivia Cooke opened up about how she'd majorly bombed an audition for *The Force Awakens *(2015). "I was really bad," she told the *Happy Sad Confused* podcast.

It seems that everyone in Hollywood has tried out for a *Star Wars* movie at some point, from Kurt Russell, who found himself up for two different characters in original trilogy, to Saoirse Ronan, who auditioned for *The Force Awakens* and had “so much fun” despite not getting the part.

However, as impossible as it may be to believe, actors *are* human, and sometimes they give terrible auditions. Even Oscar winners struggle: Eddie Redmayne tried for the part of Kylo Ren, but unfortunately, he gave a "catastrophically bad” reading and was passed over.

Below, we break down 11 instances of actors who would rather forget the time they auditioned for a *Star Wars* movie.

Eddie Redmayne

Eddie Redmayne at the Academy Museum Gala on October 18, 2025 in Los Angeles.

Taylor Hill/FilmMagic

In a 2017 interview, *Jupiter Ascending *star Eddie Redmayne opened up about trying out for *The Force Awakens*' Kylo Ren.

“They gave me like a *Star Trek* scene — or like something from *Pride and Prejudice*,” he explained. “It was one of those films. With films that top secret, they don’t give you the actual lines. So they give you a scene from *Pride and Prejudice*, but then they tell you you’re auditioning for the baddie. If you’re me, you then put some ridiculous voice on.”

“That was really a hilarious moment,” Redmayne continued. “Because it was Nina Gold — who I have to thank a lot because she’s cast me in several films — and she was just sitting there and I was trying again and again with different versions of my kind of ‘koohh paaaah’ [Darth Vader breathing sound] voice. And after like 10 shots she’s like, ‘You got anything else?’ I was like, ‘No.'”

Michael B. Jordan

Michael B. Jordan at CinemaCon 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

David Becker/Getty

On the *Just for Variety* podcast back in 2021, Michael B. Jordan revealed that his audition for *The Force Awakens* in 2013 was not one of his best. In fact, he felt that it was probably his “worst audition to date.”

While he didn’t confirm exactly what role he tried out for, he explained that, "I couldn't wrap my brain around some of the sides, because when you're reading for these high-level projects, there's never really any specificity in the sides. Everything's super vague; everything is secret."

"Reading through, I just couldn't connect it,” Jordan continued. “I definitely bombed that one, for sure. I'm pretty sure I ran out of there, like, 'See you guys. I'm outta here.'"

A$AP Rocky at the Tribeca X Awards Ceremony on June 9, 2026 in New York City.

Noam Galai/Getty

**The "F–kin’ Problems” rapper recently delved deeper into the world of acting, appearing in movies like *If I Had Legs I’d Kick You *(2025) and *Highest 2 Lowest* (2025).

However, A$AP Rocky had previously set his sights on a much bigger role when he auditioned for *Solo: A Star Wars Story* (2018), with an eye on playing Lando Calrissian. Originally played by Billy Dee Williams in the original trilogy, the younger version of the character was eventually brought to life by *Community* star Donald Glover.

In a conversation with *Variety* in 2025, Rocky didn’t mince words when it came to discussing his brush with *Star Wars*: "My audition was trash. I was trash that day."

"My man Childish Gambino [Glover] was a way better Lando than I would've provided at that time," he continued. "And I think he looked a little more like [Billy Dee Williams] than me."

But Rocky hasn’t totally given up the idea of appearing in a *Star Wars* movie. When asked if he’d try again, he responded, "Hell, yeah."

Tom Holland promoting 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' on June 22, 2026 in Berlin, Germany.

Sebastian Reuter/Getty

While speaking with Sean Evans on an episode of *Hot Ones* in 2021, the *Spider-Man* actor admitted that he had totally whiffed a reading for the role of Finn in *The Force Awakens. *It would end up going to English actor John Boyega.

Ultimately, Tom Holland got a bad case of the giggles during his audition. This was because his scene partner was playing a droid.

"I just remember thinking, 'There's no way this lady's going to read the robot's lines opposite me,' just because that would be ridiculous," Holland explained. "I don't remember what my line was, but it was, 'Let's get back to the falcon!' And then this lady, bless her, would sit there with full commitment and she just was like, 'beep-beep-boop-boop...'"

Holland tried keeping it together, but he just couldn’t take it seriously.

"I remember sort of saying, 'You're not actually going to do that, right?'" he said. "And she was like, 'Well yeah, the robot's part of the scene, he's the character.' I just got the giggles, because you know when you realize you've got something so wrong? I just couldn't stop laughing."

However, Holland believes that, at the end of the day, he just wasn’t the man for the job. "I think John Boyega was just better for the role than me," he admitted.

Olivia Cooke

Olivia Cooke at the 'House Of The Dragon' season 3 premiere on June 8, 2026 in London, England.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Though Olivia Cooke got folded into the *Game of Thrones* universe, there was once another major pop culture franchise she could've joined.

During a recent spot on *Happy Sad Confused*, Cooke denied rumors that she had been considered for Kelly Marie Tran’s character, Rose Tico, in *The Last Jedi* (2017)*. *But she *had* auditioned for the sequel trilogy's protagonist, Rey.

Unfortunately, it was not a smooth audition. “I think I auditioned once in L.A. and then once with [director] J.J. [Abrams],” she reflected. “And I was s--t. I was really bad.”

When host Josh Horowitz prodded the *Bates Motel* actress to explain exactly *why* she was bad, Cooke replied, “I was just bad. You know when you go into an audition, and you're just not bringing it, and you've let yourself down, you've let everyone down in the room?”

However, there’s no hard feelings over the bombed audition: “Daisy [Ridley] did such an amazing job. I just wasn't that kind of actor at that time. It wasn't a fit.”

Joseph Fiennes

Joseph Fiennes at The Royal Festival Hall on June 26, 2025 in London, England.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Ewan McGregor clinched the role of young Obi-Wan Kenobi in the *Star Wars* prequel trilogy, but Joseph Fiennes was also up for the part.

In an interview with *TheWrap* in 2017, Fiennes remembered getting quite far in the audition process — in fact, it was down to him and McGregor. He then auditioned in front of George Lucas and casting director Robin Gurland, and after he was finished, he came over to chat. And then he met somebody’s daughter.

“Must’ve been around age five — and he introduced me,” Fiennes recalled, “‘This is Joe and he’s quite possibly Obi-Wan Kenobi.’”

Unfortunately, the young girl’s response sealed Fiennes’ fate: “His daughter turned around and said, ‘I don’t like this guy. He’s weird. I don’t like him.’ And that’s how my audition went.”

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Sylvester Stallone

Sylvester Stallone at a 'Tulsa King' season 3 screening on September 16, 2025 in New York City.

Before Harrison Ford forever immortalized the role of Han Solo, a number of other actors auditioned for the part — including a young Sylvester Stallone, fresh off of *Rocky* (1976).

In a 2014 appearance on *The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon*, Stallone opened up about how that audition went; it wasn’t good. “I go in there, and I see George Lucas and the producer,” he explained, “and I can instantly tell, you know, ‘No one likes you.’”

He then reenacted how he recalled Lucas and the producer's behavior, which involved avoiding eye contact and looking elsewhere. Ultimately, Stallone acknowledged that Lucas had probably seen a lot of guys audition for the part, and was probably just tired.

“I was reading for Han Solo, but I got maybe, well, I got nowhere, actually,” he continued.

It was incredibly awkward, so Stallone decided to end things for them. “I said, ‘Let me just make it easy for you: I would look like crap in spandex leotards and a ray gun.’”

Charlie Cox at a Los Angeles screening of Amazon Prime Video's 'Merv' on Dec. 4, 2025 in Culver City, California.

Monica Schipper/Getty

Hilariously, the *Daredevil* actor’s many years spent playing a blind character didn’t do him any favors when auditioning for a *Star Wars* film.

Charlie Cox talked about the “super secretive” process with *The Hollywood Reporter*, indicating he wasn't told what he was auditioning for, though “I’m pretty sure it was for the Han Solo reboot.”

“Halfway through it,” he continued, “the casting director stopped me and said, ‘Why aren’t you looking at me?’ I realized I had gotten into a habit of not making eye contact, because the only thing I had done for two years is play someone who is blind. I never got invited back, probably because they couldn’t figure out why I was acting like a complete idiot.”

Glen Powell at the Directors Guild of America on April 25, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

Chad Salvador/Getty

The *Twisters* star is kind of having a moment right now, but he certainly didn’t when he read for *Solo: A Star Wars Story.*

Glen Powell spoke candidly about his time as a struggling actor in a profile for *British GQ**. *He discussed big roles he lost out on, including Captain America and Harrison Ford’s son in *Cowboys & Aliens* (2011)*.* What's more, he came extremely close to literally playing Ford — kind of.

Talking about the time he was almost Han Solo, he said, “I can joke about it now, [but] I blew that final audition.”

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Ray Winstone

Ray Winstone at the Santa Rita Boisdale Cigar Smoker of the Year Dinner & Awards in London in 2024.

Dave Benett/Getty

Veteran English actor Ray Winstone, known for memorable parts in movies like *Sexy Beast *(2000)*, The Departed *(2006), and *Black Widow *(2021), admits that he sabotaged his own *Star Wars* audition.

Speaking with *Far Out* magazine, he not only said that the audition for an unspecified prequel film “didn’t go well,” he confessed that it was largely because he was drunk.

"I was pissed anyway,” Winstone recalled. “I’d been out all night, and I turned up, and I knew I was wrong for the part as soon as I walked in, but instead of saying that, [Lucas] relayed the message to me through someone else, and I took umbrage at that."

In the end, it seemed there were no hard feelings: “I’ve worked for George since, and he was fine. He didn’t remember. Or if he did, he didn’t take it to heart.”

Jesse Plemons

Jesse Plemons at the 32nd Annual Actor Awards on March 1, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.

Rodin Eckenroth/Getty

** Though rumors had circulated that *Bugonia* star Jesse Plemons had once come close to starring in the *Star Wars* sequel trilogy, he shut down those rumors definitively in a 2025 interview with *The Independent*.

Not that he didn’t get an audition — he did. But it wasn’t a good one. “I went in, gave a terrible audition,” he recalled. “I had no idea what I was doing... it was just these scenes without any context. J.J. Abrams was really nice, but I was spiraling.”

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