After 66 years in the industry, Betty White admits she still gets stage fright.
“I can still feel it here,” the Hot in Cleveland star said, touching her chest. “Even if I’m just on a game show, I have that same thing. It’s almost sadistic. You don’t want to not feel it.”
White’s comments came during The Hollywood Reporter’s comedy actress roundtable, during which her fellow Emmy contenders shared some of their strangest audition stories.
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Jessica Walter (Netflix’s Arrested Development) once read for a voice role for a milk commercial in which she was asked to moo like a cow that had been happily married for 10 years.
“I mooed but didn’t get the part,” recalled Walters. “It is so bizarre what people want at auditions.”
Mayim Bialik (CBS’ The Big Bang Theory) said she has often been called to audition for roles where the character is described as “homely” or “fat.” For one role, the character was described as “zaftig,” the Yiddish word for plump. She wore a frumpy dress to the audition, and was surprised when the casting directors were particularly interested in her measurements.
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“They had me model for the camera before I read my lines, say my height and weight, turn to the side and film me up and down like I was auditioning for a porn film,” Bialik said. “So I did my five lines and called my manager after and was like, ‘They asked for my measurements, and I didn’t think it would matter.’ She said, ‘Oh, you didn’t see the rewrites? The character is no longer zaftig.’”
THR’s comedy actress roundtable also featured Kristen Bell (Showtime’s House of Lies), Zosia Mamet (HBO’s Girls) and Kaitlin Olson (FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). It was moderated by THR television editor Lacey Rose and senior editor Stacey Wilson.
