You would think that once you reach a certain level of fame, such things as having to audition and being rejected for roles doesn’t really happen. But that’s not the case for Nicholas Hoult – despite him acting since he was three years old, finding fame aged 12 in About a Boy, even bigger fame at 17 in seminal teen series Skins, and having starred in one of the best action movies of all time; Mad Max: Fury Road, as well as the X-Men movie franchise.
Despite all of this, Hoult claims that he recently suffered a series of career setbacks. He insists (in a new interview with The Guardian) that he had three quite big disappointments in a row, before 2020. “I screen-tested for The Batman and didn’t get it. Screen-tested for Top Gun, didn’t get it.”
“Then I got the call from Tom Cruise: ‘Hey, how about Mission Impossible?’ OK. Got it. Then I had to drop out because I was already attached to do some more of The Great.” This is good news for fans of the historical comedy series, who are eagerly awaiting The Great season 3.
Of course, despite initial skepticism, Robert Pattinson did win over most of the fans with his portrayal of Batman. Hoult would have likely been met with the same controversy, given that he’s a similar physical type to Pattinson. We don’t know what roles Hoult auditioned for in either Top Gun 2 or Mission: Impossible, but it would have been good to see him in an action movie again after Fury Road.
Hoult has been leaning into his strengths as a comedic actor in recent years, with roles in The Favourite, The Menu, Renfield, and of course The Great. He’s also going to be in Robert Eggers’ take on the Dracula myth – Nosferatu, which co-stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bill Skarsgard, Willem Dafoe, Emma Corrin, and Lily-Rose Depp.
While we wait for that, check out our guide to best vampire movies.