The 58-year-old Gladiator actor commented on Twitter about a tale director P.J. Hogan told him. The director wholly made up the story of Hogan’s love life in Hollywood, as described by Scott Meslow in his book From Hollywood, With Love.
To clarify, I didn’t try out for this role. But, for the record, Crowe stated on Twitter, “I haven’t ever performed a table read with the actress named.” It’d be hilarious if it weren’t so futile.
An excerpt from Hogan’s book was released in February by Vulture. The director said that Crowe’s audition at a table read against Roberts herself was one of the most disastrous tables reads he had ever encountered. This was the first time that Hogan’s incident was made public.
To play Michael in My Best Friend’s Wedding, Hogan initially considered Crowe, who he called “perhaps the most extraordinary actor I had ever experienced at that time,” according to the clip. Based on the book, though, Roberts personally had the final say on casting approval, and no one would be placed in the film unless Roberts gave her permission.
I don’t know what happened, Hogan says in the book. The table read was one of the worst ones I’ve ever been through. At the table, Russell was sitting across from Julia. He had his hands tightly on the writing and his eyes fixed on it; he had never met hers. His voice was completely flat as he read each line.
In one dramatic moment, Julia leaned across the table and stared at Russell from within inches of his face. And Hogan said he wouldn’t even look at her. It went pretty well, Russell said to me after the reading.
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But unfortunately, my best friend was getting married, and I immediately realized that Russell would not be attending. Hogan’s representatives have been silent in response to PEOPLE’s seeking comment.
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