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Judi Dench -

Dame Judi Dench is one of the most accomplished and well-respected actresses of her generation, but even she has dealt with such offenses. Early in her career, she worked primarily in theater, which she loved, but she also auditioned for various film roles. She recently told the Sunday Times that she was rather brutally rejected in the 1960s by a director she chose not to name.

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Judi Dench -

“He was perfectly nice,” she recalled, “but at the end he said, ‘You’ll never make a film. You have the wrong face.’” Dench responded, "that is fine, I don’t like film anyway. I want to go back to the theater." Clearly, the director was very wrong in his estimation of her potential.

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Minnie Driver -

Minnie Driver's memoir 'Managing Expectations' describes the worst audition of her life. In an excerpt obtained by E! News, the 'Good Will Hunting' actress details an audition for a chocolate product in London, soon after filming her 1995 big-screen debut 'Circle of Friends.' 

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Minnie Driver - The British star said a male director and more than a dozen people, mostly men from an ad agency, were in the casting room, and she was given no script—which were, in hindsight, bad signs. Driver writes that the director asked her to eat a piece of chocolate and imitate the famed scene from 'When Harry Met Sally' where Meg Ryan's character fake climaxes in a deli. When Driver asked in disbelief if they were asking her to fake climax, the director replied, chuckling, "Yes. Unless you fancy having a real one."

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Jennifer Lawrence -

Jennifer Lawrence was once called fat in an audition. She was told she would lose the role unless she lost a certain amount of weight.

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Jennifer Lawrence - They brought her pictures of herself almost naked and told her to use them as motivation for her diet. Now, if she hears someone mention the word diet she has no problem putting them in their place.

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Meryl Streep -

A young Meryl Streep auditioned for the 1976 version of 'King Kong.' Apparently they thought she wasn't pretty enough and the producer complained in Italian, "Why do you bring me this ugly thing?"

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Meryl Streep -

Little did he know, Streep understood Italian! She made a sarcastic comment and walked out. 

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Kristen Bell - Kristen Bell was repeatedly told in auditions that she wasn't pretty enough to play the "pretty girl," but also wasn't quirky enough to play the "weird girl." Wrong on both counts, Bell absolutely slays in every role!

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Tiffany Haddish - Tiffany Haddish heard someone comment that she wasn't "as urban as [they] thought she'd be" as she left the room after an audition.

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Tiffany Haddish - To add insult to injury, she also heard someone say that they should just go with a white woman for the role.

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Jennifer Aniston -

Before she reached her 'Friends' fame, Jennifer Aniston was told to lose 30 lbs (14 kg) if she wanted to make it in Hollywood. If Jennifer Aniston lost 30 lbs there'd be nothing left! 

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Reese Witherspoon - When she was auditioning for 'Legally Blonde,' Reese Witherspoon was advised to dress sexily because the director thought she was a "shrew" and she needed to prove them wrong.

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Sandra Oh -

Sandra Oh was once advised that she should "go back home and get famous, and then come back to LA and see how it goes." The agent said that Asian actors weren't getting work in LA. Looks like she was wrong! 

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Tracee Ellis Ross -

Tracee Ellis Ross once auditioned for the role of a Harvard-educated lawyer so she arrived wearing a sharp suit. She was pressured to change into a "sexy" outfit, which was a mini-skirt and t-shirt with a bra that was a size too small. 

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Elizabeth Banks - Elizabeth Banks was told by her first agent that she'd need to get a boob job if she wanted to get any work in Hollywood. She says she's glad she didn't have the money to take his advice at the time!

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Elizabeth Banks - At the age of 27 she auditioned for the role of Mary-Jane in 'Spiderman' opposite Toby Maguire, but was told that she was too old. She's less than two years older than Maguire. They ended up casting Kirsten Dunst who is seven years younger than Maguire.

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Megan Fox - Megan Fox's rumored experience auditioning for 'Transformers' alleges that she had to go to Michael Bay's house and wash his Ferrari for him while he filmed her, though she has since clarified she simply had to pretend to work on his car as part of the audition, but not at his house.

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Megan Fox - The story that is true, however, is that Fox's first role in a Michael Bay film, 'Bad Boys II,' was when she was 15 years old. Bay put her in a bikini and had her dance under a waterfall for her one uncredited scene.

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Charlize Theron - Charlize Theron was 18 years old when she was invited to a director's Hollywood home for a private audition. The unsuspecting young actress was surprised to be offered a drink by the director who was dressed in Hugh Hefner style pajamas. She quickly realized what was going on and hit the road.

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Gina Rodriguez - Gina Rodriguez was told she was the director's favorite pick for the part she was auditioning for, but they needed her to go home to change into a black dress and do her make up. She asked why, and they explained that they needed to see if she was pretty enough to be on the cover of magazines.

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Susan Sarandon - Susan Sarandon bravely shared the story of her sexual assault at the hands of a casting director when she was a young actress. She entered the audition room and was immediately thrown across the desk. She is now an outspoken advocate for sexual abuse victims.

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Thandiwe Newton - Thandiwe Newton has spoken out about how she was sexually exploited by a director in an audition years ago. He had a camera man film up her skirt and told her to do a sort of sexual performance for him.

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Thandie Newton -

As a young actress she was uncomfortable but did what he asked. Years later a drunken man made a comment to her at a party which led to the discovery that the director had kept the video and still showed it to his friends for fun.

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Gwyneth Paltrow -

When she was starting out, Gwyneth Paltrow was asked if she wanted to finish her audition "in the bedroom." 

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Emmy Rossum -

Emmy Rossum was told by her agent that she was going to get a part in a movie, but the producers wanted to see her in a bikini so they could make sure she hadn't gotten fat. She was even more disgusted by the request because there were no scenes in the movie that would require her to take her clothes off. 

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Lena Heady -

Lena Heady recalled the pressure to be sexy in auditions as a young actress. She was once told by a casting director that "the men take these tapes home and watch them and say, ‘Who would you f—?’” 

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Rose McGowan - Rose McGowan was invited to audition for an Adam Sandler movie with very specific instructions. She was told to wear a black tank top that showed off her cleavage. The producers even added a note: "Push up bras encouraged." She didn't go to the audition and exposed the sexist procedures on Twitter.

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Lisa Rinna - When Lisa Rinna was 24 years old, she was told that she would get the part if she'd bend over for a quickie with the producer.

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Sophia Bush - Sophia Bush had to audition three times before she got her part in 'One Tree Hill.' The first time she was told she wasn't sexy enough. The second time she was told she was too sexy. Apparently she got the balance right on the third try!

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Lana Condor -

During one audition Lana Condor was told to be "more like Hello Kitty."

See also: Stars who have been accused of sexual misconduct

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