Emma Stone insulted her co-star to land ‘Zombieland’ role
Before Emma Stone bagged several Oscars and became known as one of Hollywood’s most beloved stars, she appeared in various comedies that would help her career to rise. One of these was Zombieland, and according to her co-star, her talent for effortless insults allowed her to win the part.
Stone was desperate to enter Hollywood from a very young age, and after much convincing, she successfully got her mother to move with her to California when she was 16. From there, Stone tried her best to secure acting roles, and after several minor television performances, she earned her first film part in Superbad, in which she played the love interest of Jonah Hill’s character.
After a few more film appearances, like The House Bunny, she auditioned for Zombieland, which also starred Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Bill Murray, and Abigail Breslin. It marked the directorial debut of Ruben Fleischer and also proved to be a breakthrough role for Stone, who would soon go on to appear as the lead in the hit comedy Easy A.
Zombieland followed a group of humans who must travel across America to escape an outbreak of zombies. The movie was a hit, even spawning a sequel called Zombieland: Double Tap.
In a recent interview with The Spotlight with Jessica Shaw, Eisenberg discussed how Stone got the role of Wichita. He explained, “I was already cast in the movie, so I was auditioning like many people for her part that day,” adding, “The actors at that point were all amazing actresses, but they were all, like, trying to get into the movie, and so they were being really polite and everything.”
However, when Stone arrived for her audition, she stood out compared to the others. “She just started making fun of me in the scene, like just assaulting me with insults in the scene and it was so funny,” Eisenberg said. “They were so quick and so funny and cutting. And she left the room and I just felt so, so small.”
Thus, the casting directors, and Eisenberg, were pretty set on having Stone star in the movie. “We were like, ‘Oh my God. That person is a genius.’ And maybe she was 19 even at that time of the audition. I mean, she’s a truly spectacularly, unusually brilliant person.”
Her role in Zombieland proved to be her ticket into Hollywood, and since then, she has appeared in many acclaimed movies, like La La Land, The Amazing Spider-Man, Birdman, and Poor Things.
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