Yahoo News Here's how Joseph Fiennes lost the role of Obi-Wan
Joseph Fiennes has revealed that he was almost Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels.
Despite trying to be subtle about it, Fiennes explained that he "auditioned for a great director" for a movie that involved lightsabers, and he came really close to getting the role.
"It was whittled down after many auditions to myself and another fine actor who I was at that time at drama school with. I thought I'd have a pretty good rendition of what was needed," he told The Wrap.
That actor was confirmed by The Wrap to be Ewan McGregor, with the two attending the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London around the time of The Phantom Menace's auditions.
And Fiennes could have beaten McGregor to the role if it wasn't for one choice encounter.
At the time of his audition with George Lucas and casting director Robin Gurland, he met somebody's daughter – "a lovely, delightful child" – and he was introduced to them as "quite possibly Obi-Wan Kenobi".
"His daughter turned around and said, 'I don't like this guy. He's weird. I don't like him'. And that's how my audition went," Fiennes recalled.
All we know is that it wasn't Lucas's daughter who gave the scathing review of Fiennes, but perhaps given how the prequels turned out, maybe he should be tracking them down and thanking them.
Fiennes is currently appearing in The Handmaid's Tale which airs on Hulu in the US and starts this Sunday (May 28) at 9pm on Channel 4 in the UK.
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