'I was going to play that part': James Corden reveals how he lost lead role to Brendan Fraser in 'The Whale'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘The Late Late Show’ host James Corden has revealed how he lost the lead role in Brendan Fraser's critically acclaimed movie ‘The Whale’. The 44-year-old actor and comedian said that he would have bagged the lead role if it had been directed by Tom Ford. James told Deadline in a recent interview, “I was going to play that part, and Tom Ford was going to direct.”
Corden added that Ford wanted more complete control over the project, which is why it ultimately didn't pan out. Moreover, Corden was also reportedly worried that perhaps he was too young to do it justice. The ‘Gavin & Stacey’ star also said that the Hollywood megastar George Clooney was once also attached to the project but only wanted to make the movie if a real 600-pound unknown could be identified for the lead role. Clooney never got involved beyond that brief flirtation with the movie property because the complications of finding a lead like that were too overwhelming, according to Corden.
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Brendan Fraser plays Charlie, an obese English teacher trying to connect with his teenage daughter, in the film 'The Whale,' which was ultimately directed by Darren Aronofsky and has been dubbed as Fraser's most successful comeback movie. Fraser has been nominated for a number of awards for his performance. Meanwhile, Corden’s latest claims come after he earlier revealed that he had also auditioned for a role in the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy that didn't go too well.
Corden, who is planning to exit his famous show ‘The Late Late Show’ in 2023, told Joshua Horowitz on the 'Happy Sad Confused' podcast, “Every single person in London auditioned for Lord of The Rings, everybody, and I auditioned for Samwise... I was doing the accent and everything... Mr. Frodo!” James claimed that he and two other friends went for an audition, received one callback, and then received no further contact from the casting directors.
“Two of my other friends went in. And then we all got called back the next day, and then we got called back the next day, and then none of us got called back after that,” he remarked. James, as an actor, is best known for his work on the popular BBC sitcom 'Gavin and Stacey.' He gained notoriety for his carpool karaoke bit on ‘The Late Late Show’ and also starred in the critically panned musical 'Cats' released in 2019.
When asked if he still loved the LOTR movies even if he didn't get the part, he responded back saying, “No, I very much enjoyed those.” The four major hobbits in the popular series, which is based on JRR Tolkien's writings, were played by Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan, and Billy Boyd.