Which actor worked on a film they considered a wrong fit for them?


 Howard was an established leading man in 1938, having starred in “The Scarlet Pimpernel”, “The Petrified Forest” and “Pygmalion”.


So, naturally, when David O. Selznick set out to cast the biggest motion picture event of all time, “Gone With the Wind”, he pursued Howard relentlessly to play Ashley Wilkes, the subject of Scarlett O’Hara’s affection. Howard had the right look for the son of a southern patrician and his acting skills were first rate.


Howard thought he was all wrong for the part because he was forty-five years old in 1938. They were auditioning actresses in their early 20s to play Scarlett (who is 16 in the novel). Ashley was around 20. Vivien Leigh, who won the part of Scarlett, was 25. Even Clark Gable was only 37.


It’s not like Selznick didn’t try. The screen tests for the parts have survived and the scene Selznick chose was when Scarlett approaches Ashley to ask him to run away with her and he brushes it off as a joke. Leigh and Howard were the only two actors who made the scene look convincing.


So Selznick insisted and Howard eventually gave in. Naturally, he nailed it with an absolutely pitch perfect natural approach to the part.


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