These are some of the hairstyles that will definitely not be back in fashion.
Whoopi Goldberg, originally named Caryn Elaine Johnson, understands the influence of distorting reality. During the early stages of her career, she deliberately misrepresented her age to casting directors in order to be taken more seriously. Altering her resume, she shifted her birth year from 1955 to 1949. Goldberg justified this deception by stating, "I lied about my age for a long time because nobody would hire me to act. Everyone said I was too young. So, when I was 20, I put six years on my life."
Chloë Grace Moretz reportedly fibbed to Martin Scorsese about her nationality in order to secure the role of Isabelle in the 2011 film 'Hugo.' Despite being American, she claimed to be British like the character. During her audition, she maintained a British accent throughout, as she revealed in a 2011 interview with The Mirror. Moretz explained that she had acquired the accent's cadence during a five-month stay in London. Fortunately, Scorsese was not bothered when he eventually discovered the truth and did not hold it against her.
While auditioning for her role in 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005), Hathaway deceived director Ang Lee by falsely claiming she could ride a horse. In an interview with Out magazine she said, "My parents have given me a lot of gifts in my life, and one of them is: If you're ever asked if you can do anything, say yes. You can learn anything in two weeks if you're motivated enough. So I'd never been on a horse, and I replied, 'Oh yeah, I'm a really good rider.' So I knew I had to learn to ride, and I got really, really, really good."
However, she faced a difficult experience while filming. She had not been informed that her horse was trained to respond only to verbal commands, leading to her directions being ignored. During a rehearsal in front of 300 extras, most of whom had experience in rodeos, the horse refused to follow her instructions. As a result, her mount threw her off, causing huge embarrassment in front of the entire crew.
Rachel McAdams was also asked if she had any problem working with horses when she was being considered for a role in Terrence Malick's 'To The Wonder' (2012). Despite being allergic to horses and afraid of them at the time, she replied that she loved them. To take on the role, she managed her allergies with antihistamines and conquered her fear, making it a challenging but successful endeavor.
In 2011, Pattinson confessed to The Mirror that he had faced difficulties in his career since 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' (2005). During this period, he would inform casting directors in LA that he attended the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, explaining that it was the reason behind his lack of work. "If you've got an English accent you can get away with it," he said.
But then when Brits started populating LA, Pattinson said the fib backfired. "So then I pretended to be American for a bit," he said, adding that he would try to keep an American accent through auditions. "When Twilight came out, I still tried to pretend to be American but people thought I was insane, so I stopped."
During his audition for the TV show 'Elizabeth I,' Eddie Redmayne falsely claimed his ability to ride horses, which resulted in severe consequences when he found himself astride a stallion. "They called action and I basically went ferociously down at 100 miles an hour. I almost killed myself, almost killed half of the crew," Redmayne revealed on Conan O'Brien's late night show. "[Director] Tom Hooper comes from behind Helen Mirren with a huge loud speaker and goes, 'You're a [ ] liar, Redmayne.'" Luckily Hooper didn't fire him, but rather sent him for horseback riding lessons.
Chris Hemsworth, in a 2016 interview with RadioTimes, confessed that he typically diminishes his true height while auditioning for roles that require shorter actors. Although his actual height measures 6 feet and three inches, he and deceitful men typically exaggerate their height. Fortunately, when auditioning for Thor, a minimum height of 6 feet and one inch was deemed acceptable.
Liam Hemsworth, in order to secure his role in the movie 'The Last Song' (2010), starring Miley Cyrus, was dishonest about his ability to play volleyball effectively. In an interview with Collider, he confessed that this task proved to be extremely challenging. Hemsworth described a particular day on set where they had 300 onlookers witnessing their match against professional volleyball players, causing them to appear foolish.
When Mila Kunis auditioned for 'That '70s Show' at the age of 14, she portrayed herself as older to the casting directors. In an interview with Jay Leno, Kunis revealed, "I told them I was gonna be 18...it's not technically a lie, because at one point, given all things went right, I was gonna be 18." The crew eventually found out, but she was too perfect for the role.
Laurence Fishburne, in his youth, fibbed to Francis Ford Coppola about his age during his audition for the character Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller in 'Apocalypse Now' (1979). Fishburne, who was actually 14 years old at the time, claimed to be 16. In an interview with CBC, Fishburne revealed that after asking a secretary if she believed he looked 18, Coppola proceeded with the audition. Fishburne suspects that they were aware of his true age, saying, "I don't think I was fooling anybody."
In a 2019 Hot Ones interview, Idris Elba revealed that during auditions for 'The Wire', the casting director instructed him to act as if he were American. This was because the show's creator, David Simon, preferred to cast only American actors. Elba successfully maintained the accent until his fourth audition, when he was questioned about his background.
Elba took the high road. "My parents told me not to lie. You gotta look someone in the eye and be honest. I have lied. It's never worked out for me," he said. So he came clean and asked them not to get the casting director in trouble. Though he lied, he still got a role as Stringer Bell.
The Australian actor falsely claimed to have acting experience in order to audition for the role of James Bond in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (1969), replacing Sean Connery. During the audition with director Peter Hunt, Lazenby admitted his lie. However, according to the New York Post, Hunt was impressed by Lazenby's performance and ability to deceive the "ruthless" producers. Hunt even promised Lazenby that if he continued with the lie, he would be given the opportunity to portray Bond.
To land the role of Dana Scully on 'The X-Files,' Gillian Anderson lied about her age. She told NPR, "I lied about my age on the first audition. So I said that I was 27. So that's how you get that job." She was actually 24 at the time.
Daniel Craig has admitted that he used to deceive people by falsely claiming to be an adept horse rider in order to secure acting roles. Although he managed to avoid learning how to ride during previous occasions where it was required, his luck ran out when he was cast in the mashup film 'Cowboys & Aliens' (2011), which combined elements of both science fiction and western genres. Craig's fabrication was exposed, and he was compelled to acquire genuine equestrian skills. Fortunately, he ended up enjoying the process of learning how to ride horses.
A young George Clooney was eager to secure good acting opportunities in order to join the Screen Actors Guild and increase his chances of success in Hollywood. In one audition, he found himself in a dilemma and decided to fib about his involvement in the film 'Cat People' (1982). Coincidentally, the casting director he deceived happened to be the same person in charge of casting for 'Cat People.' Nevertheless, he managed to turn the situation around by earnestly requesting her assistance to enter SAG.
Jameela Jamil deceived both the casting director and creator of 'The Good Place' by providing false information about her acting and comedy background. Specifically, she claimed to have experience when she did not. When speaking to the casting director, she mentioned being on stage but referred to her school days. Additionally, she informed the creator that she had participated in numerous improv comedy shows in England, which was untrue.
Paul Mescal's character Connell in the popular series 'Normal People' is frequently seen driving. However, during the audition process, his agent made a false claim about his driver's license, which in reality, he did not possess. Mescal revealed, "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.'"
During her audition for 'Bridgerton,' Phoebe Dynevor falsely claimed to have horseback riding experience. The actress admitted to Glamour that she had previously expressed her dislike for horses, but when questioned about her riding abilities, she confidently replied, "Yeah, I'm amazing. I've ridden so many horses." Fortunately she learned quick and came to love it.
Landing the role of Lydia Rodarte Qualye on 'Breaking Bad' was certainly a career high, but Laura Fraser had to lie about being able to speak German to get it. She'd only learned the basics when she was around 12, but she told Rolling Stone that she was still totally unprepared for the "corporate-speak in German" which was a "nightmare" to learn. Now, however, she says "It's my party trick."
At the age of 16, Carla Gugino fibbed about her real age to be cast as a 14-year-old in 'Troop Beverly Hills' (1989). During an appearance on James Corden's talk show, she reflected on the time when it was possible to deceive others about one's age, particularly before IMDb came into existence. Gugino confessed that she didn't disclose her actual age until it became impractical to replace her due to the footage already filmed. The disclosure disappointed the director, who asserted that he wouldn't have selected her if he had known the truth.
Bryan Singer wanted someone who actually knew how to play the drums to portray Queen drummer Roger Taylor in 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (2018), and Ben Hardy wanted the role badly, "So I told him I could play the drums—which I couldn't at the time." Singer then asked Hardy to record himself playing a song so that he could show producers and Hardy "went away in a massive panic." But he bought the cheapest drum kit he could find, and asked a local drum teacher to teach him to play the song as soon as possible. Lucky for him, it all worked out.
During her audition for the character Max in 'Stranger Things,' the casting director required skateboarding skills. To compensate for her lack of experience, when asked if she knew how to rollerblade, she dishonestly answered in the affirmative. The actress mentioned to Coveteur that it wasn't entirely false as she had engaged in rollerblading before, but in truth, she hadn't skated for about a year.
During the casting process for the film 'Heathers' in 1989, Lisanne Falk, who stands second from the left in the picture, fibbed about her age to the casting directors. Although she was actually 23, Falk claimed to be 19. She confessed that she didn't want to miss out on the chance and managed to maintain the ruse until she casually mentioned living with her boyfriend on set. At that point, people started questioning whether her mother approved of the setup.
In 2021's 'Space Jam: A New Legacy,' Ceyair Wright was chosen to portray basketball legend LeBron James' son. In order to land the role, Wright stated that he had previous experience playing varsity basketball. However, he later confessed that he had never played the sport at all. To make up for this, Wright quickly acquired basketball skills with the assistance of a coach.
Sources: (Looper) (Vocal Media) (BuzzFeed) (Ranker)
See also: History's most notorious lies, hoaxes, and deceptions
We have probably all exaggerated our skills at least once or twice in order to secure a job. And this phenomenon is not uncommon in Hollywood, though it is a bit more exhilarating. In the entertainment industry, talent agents often advise their clients to claim proficiency in any skill a producer or casting director may ask for, along with the assurance that they can gain the necessary expertise later if required. It may sound risky and indeed the ploy has proven disastrous in many cases. However, there are instances where these lies have propelled certain celebrities to fame.
To discover which cherished stars resorted to deception to advance their careers, simply click through.
Actors who lied to get the part
These celebrities were caught telling fibs to advance their careers
CELEBRITY Hollywood
We have probably all exaggerated our skills at least once or twice in order to secure a job. And this phenomenon is not uncommon in Hollywood, though it is a bit more exhilarating. In the entertainment industry, talent agents often advise their clients to claim proficiency in any skill a producer or casting director may ask for, along with the assurance that they can gain the necessary expertise later if required. It may sound risky and indeed the ploy has proven disastrous in many cases. However, there are instances where these lies have propelled certain celebrities to fame.
To discover which cherished stars resorted to deception to advance their careers, simply click through.