Will Arnett’s “most painful” audition was trying not to shit himself in front of Kevin Costner
It turns out that Will Arnett’s stories about trying to make it as an actor are just as hilarious as the films and shows that he’s appeared in.
There aren’t many comedy stars working today who can provoke laughter quite like the actor, who still feels somewhat niche, despite being in a number of shows and films, with his big break coming from Arrested Development, a beloved sitcom that only ever had a cult audience, and was cancelled prematurely after the end of its third season.
Anyone familiar with his work knew just how hilarious he could be, but Arnett didn’t have the visibility needed to land as many jobs as he needed, such that Arrested Development was also a role that he had landed after some exhausting years of going to endless auditions. It was long before he had any credits on his résumé, however, that Arnett found himself auditioning for Kevin Costner in the western The Postman, which he said did not go as expected.
“The night before, I had eaten something bad, and I ended up going to the hospital because I was so dehydrated from being ill,” Arnett admitted, “At that point, that afternoon going to meet him, that was the furthest I’d been away from the bathroom in like 14 hours, and I remember getting up there and meeting him and being a fan of his and just sweating, and just thinking like this could go really bad right now. I was meeting Kevin Costner, and I legitimately was worried about crapping my pants.”
Unsurprisingly, he didn’t land the job, and it’s unclear if he made any sort of impression on Costner either, who was then on the hottest streak of his entire career, and although the experience may have been disappointing for Arnett at the time, it may have actually ended up benefitting his career because of what a disaster The Postman ended up being.
Costner had shocked the industry seven years earlier when he won ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’ at the Academy Awards for Dances with Wolves, an ambitious Civil War western that many had predicted to fail. Although he spent the rest of the ‘90s starring in hits like JFK, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Bodyguard, and Tin Cup, he decided to get back in the director’s chair for The Postman, a post-apocalyptic western.
The creative has frequently spoken about needing to tell a good story, but it appeared he didn’t follow his own advice with the film, which became an absolute disaster both critically and commercially, with reviews so bad that Costner ended up picking up the Golden Raspberry Awards for ‘Worst Director’ and ‘Worst Picture’, making him one of the few filmmakers to win both golden accolades from opposite ends of the spectrum.
Ironically, Arnett might actually be more viable in the industry right now than Costner, who infamously left Yellowstone to begin directing his multi-part western Horizon: An American Saga, which he self-financed; after Part 1 bombed in theatres, Part 2 was pushed back, and is now held up in a lawsuit due to allegations of misconduct on set.
Comparatively, Arnett just turned in a great dramatic performance in Bradley Cooper’s dramedy Is This Thing On?, which many have cited as the best of his entire career.
