- James Corden said he auditioned for the lead role in the critically acclaimed movie "The Whale."
- "I was going to play that part, and Tom Ford was going to direct," the talk-show host told Deadline.
James Corden said he was considered for the lead role in the Oscar-tipped movie "The Whale" before Brendan Fraser was cast.
In his latest Deadline column, published on Friday, the critic Pete Hammond shared that during a conversation with the host of "The Late Late Show," Corden told him he was originally set to star in the movie.
"I was going to play that part, and Tom Ford was going to direct," Corden said of the critically acclaimed film, which earned Fraser a Golden Globe nomination in December.
Directed by Darren Aronofsky, "The Whale" stars Fraser as Charlie, an obese and reclusive English teacher who attempts to reconnect with his 17-year-old daughter, Ellie (Sadie Sink).
Corden said there was a point when he was on board, though the 44-year-old actor worried he was too young to do the role justice compared with Fraser, 54.
Corden said Ford, the fashion designer and filmmaker, was originally attached to helm the project, which is based on the play by Samuel D. Hunter, who also wrote the screenplay for the film.
Corden added that Ford, the director of "Nocturnal Animals," didn't end up directing "The Whale" because he'd wanted more control.
Ford wasn't the only filmmaker involved in the project — Corden said George Clooney had also briefly been attached to the film.
Corden suggested the "Ocean's Eleven" star said he would make the film only if a 600-pound unknown actor could be cast as Charlie. It was a deal-breaker for Clooney, and his version of the story never came to fruition.
Hammond said that during another interview, Aronofsky corroborated all of Corden's claims about the film's development.
Corden also recently said on an episode of the podcast "Happy Sad Confused" that he auditioned for the part of Samwise Gamgee in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy when he was in his early 20s.
"Every single person in London auditioned for 'Lord of The Rings.' Everybody. And I auditioned for Samwise," he said.
"I was doing the accent and everything! 'Mr. Frodo!'" he added, imitating the character's West Country accent.
Corden said that while his audition was "not good," he was twice called back for the part of Frodo's loyal friend. However, it ended up going to the American actor Sean Astin.