Audition tapes—be they real, fake, or of ambiguous origin—make for natural Internet fodder. Whether they’re good, bad, or excruciatingly awful, they provide a behind-the-scenes glimpse at Hollywood that appeals to the Internet’s voyeuristic side. It’s an extra-special treat, though, to see stars acting supremely comfortable in the role right out of the gate. The latest example surfaced yesterday—though it’s been sitting around YouTube for a year, it’s just getting play now—and shows a younger Steve Carell going out for Brick Tamland from Anchorman. Carell performs two scenes, and cracks the room up so effortlessly they ask him to repeat the second one with Will Ferrell.
Carell nails the part in two minutes. Jim Carrey’s audition tape for Man On The Moon, though, demonstrates just how dedicated he was to scoring the Andy Kaufman role. His seven-minute tape shows Carrey in multiple scenes wearing multiple get-ups. Plus: Bongos.
John Belushi’s Saturday Night Live audition tape might as well have been three seconds long; that’s all it takes for Belushi to demonstrate his genius.
Many of these can be found buried in DVD special-feature menus, but the Internet has become the go-to source for on-demand trips down memory lane… feel free to point to other great auditions in the comments.
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