‘Sherlock Holmes’ star Martin Freeman Reveals How a Bad Day Almost Cost Him the Role

For actors, auditions are a huge part of the process in their careers. However, a bad personal day that they can’t shake off can affect the outcome of who wins or loses a role. Just ask British actor Martin Freeman who took his cranky attitude into the audition room after

martin-freeman-sherlock-auditionFor actors, auditions are a huge part of the process in their careers. However, a bad personal day that they can’t shake off can affect the outcome of who wins or loses a role. Just ask British actor Martin Freeman who took his cranky attitude into the audition room after the theft of his wallet.

He was auditioning for the role of Dr. John Watson in the new BBC1 adaptation of Sherlock Holmes and admitted he “wasn’t in the best frame of mind.”

The Hobbit star explained, “I’ll admit maybe I was a bit stressed. But a week later my agent rang and said, ‘Listen, this Sherlock thing, they’re sort of under the impression you weren’t that into it.'”

That’s when Freeman realized he had to spring into action in order to save a role that was quickly slipping away from him.

He continued, “And I said ‘Oh … I am really interested. Please call them and let them know that I am interested.'”

The 42-year-old actor was lucky that the producers were open to him coming back in and reading again.

“I wasn’t being blasé about it at all. I just wasn’t on my best day. So I came in again, read with Benedict [Cumberbatch] and it instantly worked, it seemed to me … I thought he was a fantastic actor and there was something about our rhythms, similarities and differences that meant that it just happened,” Freeman said.

While The World’s End star was lucky to get a second chance, it’s great reminder to leave those bad days out in the waiting room before that big audition.

Via The Guardian

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