Scarlett Johansson tried out for Les Misérables

Scarlett Johansson may be the toast of Broadway for her portrayal of Maggie in ‘Cat on a Hot Tin Roof’, but the only true acting is movie acting, where you’re given endless chances at saying two or three lines at a time under optimal circumstances then having everything edited together with computers later on.

It’s a reality Scarlett knows all too well, which is why she tells Broadway.com she’s still upset about losing a role in ‘Les Miserables’ to Anne Hathaway.

We’ve talked about you doing a musical at some point. Is it true that you auditioned to be Fantine in the Les Miz movie?
Yes, I did. I sang my little heart out.

Was it terrifying?
No, are you kidding? The jazz hands kid inside me was just over the moon! And I auditioned with laryngitis. I did everything I could to, like, not have laryngitis. And I think looking at the film now, there’s no possible way I ever could have topped that performance [by Anne Hathaway]. It was perfect and I think fateful and meant to be. But, yes, the audition itself brought back so many memories of auditioning for Les Miz for the young Cosette, and it was fun for me to revisit that.

It really is interesting to imagine Scarlett in the role instead of Hathaway, who was nominated for an Academy Award. It would have totally changed the way I described the movie while saying I won’t see it.