“I narrowly missed out on a job [in 2006] in London playing the youngest PM in Britain, Willia

“I narrowly missed out on a job [in 2006] in London playing the youngest PM in Britain, William Pitt, [in ‘Amazing Grace’]. I did a really good audition and I worked really hard to get the job. The director ummed and ahhed on me for weeks. Finally, he said, ‘My issue with Joel is that he doesn’t strike me as blue-blooded enough.'…When he looked at me, I didn’t seem like the upper class, silver spoon type. Inside, I was like, 'No, no, I can be that!’“ So anyway, then I get to [casting] 'The Square’ and I had this realisation.  There’s this thing I refer to as the - You Are The Guy Or You Are Not The Guy - and I realised when I was dealing with this director in London that I just wasn’t The Guy. If I was the only guy in contention, I could’ve been The Guy and I could’ve done a good job, but because there was another person in the frame (Benedict Cumberbatch) that was more The Guy than I was The Guy…Well, now I’ve completely given up all those feelings of, ‘Arghhh!’ because if I was the director, I would’ve picked the other guy too!”–  Joel Edgerton on losing out on a role to Benedict Cumberbatch and learning that casting decisions are rarely personal  -- source link

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