When J.J. Abrams was casting the role of Finn in Star Wars: The Force Awakens throughout early 2014 when auditions began in earnest, little did he know two of the names that infamously bombed when they went in to read for the part would go on to become superstars.
Michael B. Jordan has been open in admitting that he couldn’t connect with the vague pages he was given to read during his screen test, while it’s gone down in Hollywood folklore that young and relatively unknown teenager Tom Holland couldn’t stop laughing when he was supposed to be acting opposite a droid.
Of course, John Boyega has gone on to accomplish some impressive things since landing the gig for himself, but you could definitely make a well-founded argument that Jordan and Holland are currently much bigger stars. During an appearance on YouTube’s Hot Ones, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man dredged up the memories all over again.
“That’s very true. I don’t think that’s the reason why I didn’t get the role. I think John Boyega was just better for the role than me. I just got the giggles. You know when you realize you’ve got something so wrong? I just couldn’t stop laughing.”
Holland would have only been 17 when Boyega was announced as Finn, so he may have been a touch on the young side for the part anyway. Star Wars survived without him, and The Force Awakens‘ loss turned out to be the MCU’s gain in the long run.