While the competition for Best Christmas Movie is a tough one, the 2006 romantic comedy The Holiday takes the number one spot for many people. And while the movie, starring Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black, was undeniably a success, and has become a classic over the years, it turns out many unexpected celebrities were in the running for the roles.
Talking to Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Winslet opened up about two not-so-successful auditions from Fallon and Oscar nominee Robert Downey Jr. At the time, the two were auditioning for Law and Black’s roles, respectively.
“This is a really real story, which I remember extremely well,” Winslet told Fallon. “We were sort of told that you were coming in to do … well, I thought it was a reading. We were going to have a fun reading of the script, I didn’t realize you were auditioning for the part, I’m so sorry you didn’t get it.”
Winslet went on to explain that Downey Jr’s audition quickly went downhill. “It was a hotel room somewhere on the Upper East Side, and Robert Downey did an English accent, but I thought he was doing Australian,” she said, while Fallon tried to defend the fellow A-lister.
“I thought, ‘That’s bad. That’s not going to work and who’s going to tell him that sounds dreadful,'” Winslet continued. “It wasn’t actually that great.” We’re now wondering if this is the first time the Oppenheimer star will be hearing about this!
But, despite the two failed auditions, the final roles were all perfectly cast. So much so that, according to Winslet, fans recognize her for the Christmas movie even more than Titanic.
“People come up to me in the streets more about The Holiday and the episode of Extras that I did than Titanic, I promise you,” she told Fallon. “Especially at Christmas.”
Most of all, it seems like Winslet is grateful that the movie has had a special meaning for many families around the world. “What’s so lovely is that mothers and daughters come up to me in the grocery store and they say, ‘OK, we just love The Holiday. It’s our little ritual at Christmas,'” Winslet remembered. “They sit down, it’s a tradition, and I just love that.”
“That’s something I never would have expected, this sort of mother-daughter connection around a film like that,” she continued. “It’s so nice. It’s lovely.” Indeed, we can’t wait for Christmas so we can rewatch it all over again!
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