Naomi Watts Santiago Felipe/Getty Images
Not even Naomi Watts is immune from embarrassing moments, and the actress revealed a big one in The Hollywood Reporter’s Drama Actress Roundtable, published Wednesday, May 29.
Watts, 55, appeared at the roundtable alongside Anna Sawai, Jennifer Aniston, Nicole Kidman, Jodie Foster, Brie Larson and Sofía Vergara. The moderator raised the issue of directors in the past asking auditioning actors to make out with each other “to test for chemistry.”
That’s when Watts revealed that she and an unnamed actor shared a “mortifying” moment.
“I was auditioning and I didn’t get the job, so clearly I did not do a good makeout,” she began. “It was with a very well-known actor. It was mortifying because we didn’t hear a ‘cut,’ and it just kept going. Then they were like, ‘OK, OK.’ And we both were like, ‘Oh, sorry, we didn’t hear …’ I did feel a bit rattled.”
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As awkward as the moment may have been, the panel agreed that it was not necessary to begin with.
“You can not have chemistry, and onscreen, it’s made,” said Kidman, 56. “There’s a way you can shoot things. I think just relying on chemistry is lazy. There’s the writing. There’s the interaction. You can literally be directed through it.”
Naomi Watts Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
Aniston, 55, added that just being in the audition room puts actors at a disadvantage in that situation.
“Maybe you’d have chemistry with this person if you were in a different environment and not, like, ‘Create chemistry. Ready? Go!’” she said. “And I’m a terrible auditioner, always was. I waitressed forever before I could finally get something, which was a Bob’s Big Boy commercial. So, if you’re a nervous auditioner to begin with, to then say, ‘Now let’s have you make out with a complete stranger,’ it’s very uncomfortable.”
Watts said she was also a bad auditioner, revealing even more awkward feelings she’s had while trying out for a part.
“I could feel the energy in the room where people were like, ‘Hurry this along.’ I’d even go, ‘Yeah, don’t worry, I’m out of your way in one second. You don’t even have to look me in the eye and shake my hand,’” she admitted.
The key for Watts was meeting filmmaker David Lynch, who took the time to get to know her instead of just asking her to read lines — or make out with a stranger.
“He just sat and talked to me [for Mulholland Drive],” she said. “He said, ‘Tell me about yourself.’ And I fell into it, this conversation. I was like, ‘Wait, really? You want to take time with me? You want to know s–t about me and how I was raised and all of that?’ And then I got the job. I didn’t even have to audition.”