The Oscar-nominated role Julianne Moore was kicked out of: “I didn’t leave, I was fired”
Being fired from a job is even more brutal than not getting it at all, a surprisingly common occurrence in the film industry when actors are taken off projects due to creative differences and other disagreements that get the Hollywood rumour mill going. While these artists might be at the top of their game, it is sometimes because of this that they end up clashing with their directors, both with strong ideas on how to portray a character and not being able to find a middle ground.
It could be Ryan Gosling’s decision to drink melted Häagen-Dazs ice cream in order to put on weight for his part in The Lovely Bones, later being fired and replaced by Stanley Tucci after turning up to set looking very different to how he had been at his audition. Or it could be Joaquin Phoenix’s bizarre departure from Todd Haynes’ latest film, with both parties refusing to comment yet hinting at behind-the-scenes turmoil.
However, when it’s a role you desperately want and love, it is, imaginably, a rather painful experience, with Julianne Moore describing her deep disappointment at being fired from one film and being replaced by comedy legend Melissa McCarthy, a dramatic curveball in her career that no one expected.
Marielle Heller has had an interesting career to date, with promising works that even led to Oscar nominations for ‘Best Director’ before making a recent flop with Amy Adams that might have derailed this path to critical success. However, her 2018 film Can You Ever Forgive Me remains a triumph in her filmography, partly due to the exceptional and surprising central performances from Melissa McCarthy and Richard E Grant.
The story follows a professional biographer called Lee who embarks on a criminal scheme to create expert copies of famous letters and literary works, inadvertently challenging her preference for loneliness after sparking an unexpected friendship with a man called Jack Hock.
But while McCarthy is sensational in the film, becoming a character that is so distinctly unfunny in their darkness and cynicism and feeling completely different to her other characters, the actor wasn’t first in line for the role, with Julienne Moore being previously cast before a sudden clash in perspective. Perhaps the most important aspect of collaboration is synchronicity and shared vision, something that Moore didn’t share with the writer of the film, Nicole Holofcener, with the pair having opposing views on Lee and how she should be played.
Moore was surprisingly open about the experience, revealing, “I didn’t leave that movie, I was fired. Nicole fired me. So yeah, that’s the truth. I think she didn’t like what I was doing. I think that her idea of where the character was, was different than where my idea of where the character was, and so she fired me. I still haven’t seen it yet because it’s still kind of painful, but I love Melissa McCarthy, I worship her, I think she’s fantastic.”
But fate works in mysterious ways, and while it might still be a tender spot for Moore, there is no doubt that McCarthy is more disarming in a role like this and has a level of grit that she might not have had, with a grungy quality that makes her the perfect fit for such an abrasive and reluctantly caring character.
