They say the biggest rewards require the biggest risks, but anyone who has lived a good amount of time can tell you that those risks don’t always pay off.

These 16 actors saw a role they wanted and they weren’t going to let it go – no matter if they had to lie, steal, cheat, or significantly change their appearance to get it.

16. He could pull it off.

When Brian d’Arcy James had a chance to land a part in First Man, he knew he had to work extra hard to convince the creators they could see him as an M15 pilot.

To do just that, he borrowed an Air Force jumpsuit from a costumer and a plane from a friend, and passed out the resulting photos to the casting directors.

He talked about why he made the decision in Backstage.

“Long story short, David was able to help me get a friend of his who owns an airport, and who strangely also happens to be a semiprofessional photographer, to take a little bit of his day and do a makeshift photo shoot of me standing next to a plane in a fighter pilot costume so I could just show them ‘Look, if you’re having a hard time envisioning what I would look like, let me show you.’ And it worked!”

15. It might have been overkill.

 

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Julia Garner had to make a major commitment when she landed the lead role in Madonna’s self-directed biopic, including attending a “boot camp.”

She did 11-hour choreography, dance, reading, and singing lessons with Madonna.

All for a film that eventually got shelved.

14. Still available.

Geena Davis knew she wanted the role when she first read Thelma and Louise, saying it was “the best script she’d ever read.”

Both leads were originally cast, though, and as things kept falling through, she had her agent continue calling producer (eventual director) Ridley Scott to say she was still available and interested.

When he took the helm as director, he decided there would be no harm in giving her a meeting.

13. Well that’s rude.

Ben Affleck landed the role in Armageddon, but ended up with $20,000 in dental bills because director Michael Bay thought Affleck “kind had these baby teeth.”

Since he loves doing “low shots that kinda come right under your chin and make you look a little bit heroic,” that was a problem.

It took Affleck a week of eight hour appointments to get the look Bay wanted.

12. It was important.

Lea Michele showed up to her Glee audition “still pulling pieces of glass out of her hair” after getting into a car accident on the Fox lot.

That’s dedication!

11. Just a little creepy.

Jada Pinkett Smith “went method” for her Gotham audition, arriving in character. She wore a short wig, a long dress, and led a shirtless man on a leash into the casting.

Apparently that was exactly what they were looking for!

10. Good thinking.

Samuel L Jackson discovered he was the model for writer Mark Millar’s version of Nick Fury and decided to capitalize.

He gave Marvel Comics permission to continue using basically his face as long as he could play Fury in any and all onscreen adaptations.

9. That’s a good friend.

Andrew Garfield’s massage therapist, Greg Miele, also worked on Lin Manuel Miranda – and when the latter asked whether or not the former could sing, Greg said yes, absolutely.

Garfield was cast in Tick, Tick…Boom, but had to throw himself into a year of singing and piano lessons to not make a liar of his friend.

8. They didn’t check references.

Jameela Jamil might have been the perfect choice for her role on The Good Place, but she definitely lied in order to get it.

“I told the casting director that I had acting experience, which was a lie.”

When series creator Michael Schur asked if she had experience with improv, she fibbed again, saying she “did loads of that on the theater in England!”

7. Dress for the role you want.

Jessica Biel bought a 19th-century princess outfit and showed up to her final audition for The Illusionist “fully decked from head to toe.”

She told the Chicago Tribune how she was feeling going in.

“I thought, either I’m gonna be totally laughed at or they’re gonna love it. One or the other. And I have no inhibitions at this moment and put it out there. And I walked in and I think there was a little shock at first and a little bit like, ‘Oh god, no.’ And then Michael London said, ‘Oh, thank god. At least we have one costume out of the way.’ It put me at ease. I was like, ‘Awww. You love it. OK.'”

6. A new skill!

Anne Hathaway lied about being able to ride a horse when she was cast in Brokeback Mountain, but she figured no one had to know she’d never ridden before as long as she learned how to ride.

Which she did, expertly – though you wouldn’t have known it once she stepped on set.

“But I was given a horse on set without being told it was a verbal-command horse, so I couldn’t figure out how to make it ride. And I went to a rehearsal in front of 300 extras, all of whom work in rodeos, and the horse wouldn’t do a damn thing I wanted it to. And at the end it threw me – in front of everyone.”

5. That’s…a choice.

Chloe Grace Moretz was advised by the Hugo casting director to lie too Scorsese about being British.

She even made up an entire backstory about growing up with horse-breeding parents in Cambridgeshire.

The talked about the choice with Stephen Colbert.

“I ended up booking the part, and it wasn’t really until much later in the production that he realized I was not British…I think my mom’s Southern accent kind of gave the whole ‘horse breeding’ thing away.”

4. This one is funny.

Paul Mescal never learned to drive or had a license before landing the role in Normal People.

He told Entertainment Weekly about his his agent lied to help him out.

“My agent was like, ‘We are not losing this job over you not being able to drive, so I’ll tell production that you can, and in the meantime, you go off and rattle through as many lessons as you can.'”

3. It worked out because he’s perfect.

Way back when Idris Elba was auditioning for The Wire, casting director Alexa Fogel suggested he pretend to be American to appease David Simon, the series’ director.

He told Hot Ones that he came clean before the final decisions were made, though.

“My parents told me not to lie – you gotta look someone in the eye and be honest.”

2. That could have backfired.

Margot Robbie felt out of her depth while auditioning with Leonardo DiCaprio, so she took a chance that could have cost her her career – she slapped him and screamed “F**k you!”

“The room just went dead silent and I froze. I’m thinking, you just hit Leonardo DiCaprio in the face. They’re going to arrest you because that’s assault. You’re definitely never going to work again, that’s for sure. They’ll probably sue you as well in case there’s a bruise on his face and he needs to film something else. Then all of a sudden, Martin Scorsese and Leo just burst out laughing. Marty says, ‘That was great!’ Leo’s like, ‘Hit me again!'”

1. To get into the part.

Vilhelm Blomgren was instructed to walk 30 meters into the woods before starting his self-taped audition for Midsommar.

I suppose it paid off!

Y’all, I do not have the grit to become an actor. This just proves it.

Then again, I’m sure not everyone in the business has stories like these. Probably.