Robert Downey Jr. and Jimmy Fallon recall a failed audition for ‘The Holiday’

While The holidays has become a staple of rom-coms in the winter season, the cast might have looked different if Robert Downey Jr. and Jimmy Fallon’s audition hadn’t been a hit.

During an interview on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show, Fallon and Downey recalled auditioning for Nancy Meyers’ 2006 romantic comedy for roles that ultimately went to Jude Law and Jack Black. Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz also starred in the film about two women who swap houses during the Christmas season.

“We both got called to fill seats and we saw each other,” Downey said of meeting Fallon at the time. “Jack Black is getting her part and Jude Law is definitely getting my part, but she [Meyers] I needed someone to read to the girls, and we were sitting there thinking, ‘It’s about to happen for us. ”

“I was in a hotel room with Robert Downey Jr., Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, and we read this script,” Fallon continued. “I said, ‘If Jack Black says no to this movie, I’m in. I’ll do it for half his price.'”

Despite feeling “safe” and like they were a “hit” for the film, Downey recalled Winslet jokingly telling him what she thought about his British accent. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to have a better British accent than Jude Law right now,’” Downey said. “And Winslet said, ‘That’s the worst British accent I’ve ever heard.'”

“I thought, I’ll go now, but I’ll take the gummy bears from the minibar,” he joked.

Although he did not write down the roles, Fallon said the audition was “amazing” for him as he was able to sit opposite Downey, whom he described as “the best actor I’ve ever sat down with and did a scene with in my entire life.” .” And he added: “It was amazing for me. I left the business. I never came back.”

Fallon also joked that he has a tattoo of him and Downey “arm in arm, walking out dejected, not in this movie.”

Ultimately, Downey said Meyers thought the film wasn’t “right” for the two of them: “Nancy said to both of us at the same time, ‘This was great. It’s just not a perfect fit. It’s not a perfect fit.’”

However, Stern took issue when he told them, “That movie would have been so much better with you two.”