Taylor Swift almost landed a critical role in 2012’s “Les Miserables”.
Director Tom Hooper recently explained to Vulture why he chose Les Miserables stage actress Samantha Barks over the “Shake It Off” singer.
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“She had auditioned for ‘Les Mis’. She rather brilliantly auditioned for Éponine,” Hooper said. “I didn’t cast her, but I got very close to it. Ultimately, I couldn’t quite believe Taylor Swift was a girl people would overlook. So it didn’t quite feel right for her for the most flattering reason.”
“I knew she was curious to work on a musical. When [‘Cats’] came up, I wrote to her and just said, ‘Would you like to meet? Would you like to see the world I’m creating?’ And I did a presentation,” Hooper shared. “Eve Stewart had these wonderful paintings she did of the world.”
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“I had a ten-second clip of a dancer with fur, lifelike. That was my pitch,” he continued. “She loved it and was very gracious and really supportive from then on. At that point, I had no idea she’d end up getting involved in writing the new song and getting involved as a lyricist.”
Swift stars alongside James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Kelly Rowland, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson, Idris Elba and more in “Cats”. The film premiered Dec. 20.
