Some people may look at Juno Temple and think “this is a woman who could play Alice in Wonderland!”, but director Tim Burton would not be one of them. The Ted Lasso actress, in a new Interview Magazine conversation with fellow actor Miles Teller, reflected on the devastation she felt when being rejected for a role she wanted very badly, and what she learned from the process.
“It was a dream role for me. I wanted to play Alice so badly,” Temple explained (as we first read on ScreenRant). Unfortunately for the actress, Burton did not feel the same when it came time to audition people for his 2016 live-action adaptation. The role ultimately went to Mia Wasikowska.
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Why Did Juno Temple Get Rejected By Tim Burton?
Speaking with Teller, the two actors reflected on the early rejections that made them. For Temple, it was the role of Alice, as she was a long-time fan of the Lewis Carroll classic. “I was 17 when Tim Burton made Alice in Wonderland,” she explained, making her the perfect age for the part at the time. She went on to explain just how great her love is by adding, “I have a first edition copy of Alice in Wonderland that I actually sleep with on my bedside table like it’s the Bible.”
Unfortunately for Temple, Burton did not feel the same. “I remember my agent called, and the first thing he said was, ‘Are you sitting down? We just wanted to tell you that Tim Burton doesn’t think you are right for Alice, so there’s actually not going to be an audition for it.’ I was devastated.”
Alice in Wonderland Throughout the Years in Film
However, Temple took the rejection and learned from it rather than letting it destroy her. “I think quite early on in a career, you have to be able to understand why the ‘no’ is happening. Of course, you can’t help but take it personally sometimes.” That said, when the film finally came out, Temple had an a-ha moment.
“I watched the movie. And this was a really important realization for me at 17 years old,” she said. “I wasn’t right for Alice. I’m the Queen of Hearts. When you see a final product, it always makes sense as to why you were not the fit for that role at that moment in time. I auditioned for a few of those Disney remakes. And it’s like, I’m not Cinderella.”
Some might say Temple learned Ted Lasso’s golden rule before she even stepped foot on that show’s set: be a goldfish.
In the intervening years, Temple has made quite the name for herself as a versatile actress with a commanding presence on screen. And thanks to her breakout role in Ted Lasso, Temple’s auditioning less and being straight-up offered roles a lot more— a huge change from her early acting days.
“I think Ted Lasso opened a lot of doors for me in the past couple years. I’ve been acting since I was 16. But being offered parts is still kind of wild, I’m getting used to that. I’m really interested in working with certain artists, and I think I should be so lucky if they would like to work with me back. Sometimes it happens.”
Nowadays, the Venom: The Last Dance star doesn’t focus on other people’s opinions and instead just focuses on the work and how she feels about it. It’s a way of operating that would make Coach Lasso proud.