Asylum’ despite being a ‘favorite’ cast choice
Margot Robbie almost became part of Ryan Murphy’s television universe.
The Barbie star and producer auditioned for American Horror Story: Asylum, which aired in 2012. The FX series starred franchise staple Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Lily Rabe, with guest appearances by Chloë Sevigny, Clea DuVall, Adam Levine and Jenna Dewan Emmy-nominated part of the anthology.
More from IndieWire
Casting director Eric Dawson announced that Robbie auditioned for an undisclosed role and despite it being one of his “favourite” performances, it was not cast.
“Margot has many it factors. That’s the hard part for casting directors who aren’t in the room [anymore] with actors,” Dawson said during Backstage “In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast”. “Margot is probably one of my favorite auditions of all time, and it was right before she broke out. She was such a star. It was crazy, her star appeal as she walked into the room. Even though she didn’t get that role, it was one of those things as a casting director: This is a star, what are we going to do with her?”
Dawson continued, “However, she was immediately out of our hiring realm. But that’s what’s really fun about casting, which is seeing the people whose careers are just beginning to take off.”
Dawson has served as casting director on most of Murphy’s productions as executive producer, from Glee to the current Netflix series Dahmer. A new episode of AHS called Delicate will premiere September 20, starring Emma Roberts, Cara Delevingne and Starring Kim Kardashian.
At the time of Robbie’s “AHS” audition, the Australian actress came from the short-lived series Pan Am, which aired from 2011-2012. Robbie then starred in About Time and got it Breakout Roll in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, both released in 2013.
Robbie recalled auditioning for lead roles after Pan Am’s cancellation. The Oscar nominee told The guard In 2018, she said that despite being new to Hollywood, she would face casting calls fearlessly.
“I was like, ‘Wait, look up from your papers, watch me, I’m going to blow your mind,'” Robbie said.
The best of IndieWire
Sign up for Indiewire newsletter. Follow us for the latest news Facebook, TwitterAnd Instagram.
