The role Tom Hiddleston lost to Orlando Bloom because he was “very hungover”
Auditions are a critical part of an actor’s journey to stardom, an opportune moment where raw talent, preparation, and a bit of luck must align. Many a tale exists of unknown actors clinching coveted roles, propelling them into instant fame. Conversely, there are equally compelling stories about missed opportunities — moments that could have significantly altered an actor’s career trajectory. The British actor Tom Hiddleston has one such story to tell.
Although he’s probably most famous for his role as Loki in the Marvel films, even charming fans enough to warrant a Disney+ spin-off series named after his character, Hiddleston has successfully catered to both the blockbuster and arthouse indie crowds. He starred alongside Brie Larson in the 2017 Monsterverse movie Kong: Skull Island while also adding several acclaimed British dramas to his name, most notably with his frequent collaborations with the excellent social realist director Joanna Hogg on movies like Archipelago and Exhibition.
Like many aspiring artists, Hiddleston faced numerous auditions and near-misses early in his career. Despite his talent and charm, he was once denied a role for reasons one might describe as self-inflicted. This curious incident involved none other than another British heartthrob, Orlando Bloom. The two were in contention for the same role, but Hiddleston’s actions the night before the audition may have tilted the scales decidedly in Bloom’s favour.
The role in question was that of Will Turner in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Yes, the swashbuckling, earnest, and sometimes annoying character we have come to associate with Bloom may well have featured Hiddleston wielding the cutlass instead. In the eye-opening documentary Muse of Fire, which features several prominent actors discussing the role of Shakespeare in their careers, Hiddleston treated viewers to a tasty anecdote.
Receiving the script just the evening before the audition, he made the somewhat questionable decision to go out for a few pints with his friends instead. “The next day, I walked in at 10am, very hungover, hadn’t learnt it and did it a couple of times, and the casting director was like: ‘Uh-huh, okay, okay. Well, thanks for coming in,'” Hiddleston recalled.
This probably wasn’t the lasting impression he had aimed to make, and he unsurprisingly never even got a call-back for a second round of auditions. As lost jobs go, missing out on one due to having a few lagers too many must be particularly hard to come to terms with. While Hiddleston may have lost the chance to be part of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and the millions that must have come with it, his career was hardly sunk.
He later found his sea legs, so to speak, and is now considered one of the UK’s biggest and most successful exports to Hollywood. However, the tale serves as a particularly cautionary one for aspiring thespians: remember the importance of preparation, focus, and, perhaps, sobriety in the fiercely competitive world of acting.
