`Feeling like a nobody`: Emily Blunt`s audition for this film was the worst of her career

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Instead of an actress later nominated for an Oscar, the director chose his own wife for the role.

On February 23, 2025, the actress Emily Blunt turned 42 years old. She is currently at the peak of her career, especially after filming with the legendary Christopher Nolan in "Oppenheimer" (2023), where she excellently played the role of the main character's wife, Katherine. For this role, the actress was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Supporting Actress.
A blonde woman in a light green satin dress looks back over her shoulder with a smile
Actress Emily Blunt
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In the podcast "Happy Sad Confused," she fondly recalled that year of filming:
I think people imagine it was terribly intense, and we all walked around saying we were making an Important Film with a capital 'I,' but it wasn't like that at all. It was very warm, fun, and joyful.
However, this relaxed atmosphere was vastly different from the one during Blunt's work with director Andrei Konchalovsky in 2003.

Emily was 19 at the time. She auditioned for the role of King Henry II's (Patrick Stewart) lover in the film "The Lion in Winter." The plot revolves around the ruler meeting with his wife (who has spent ten years in prison) to choose one of his sons as his successor.
A middle-aged man in a light suit is smiling and holding a white hat in his hand
Director Andrei Konchalovsky
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"The Lion in Winter": When the Predator is the Director Himself

Blunt tries not to recall that period of her life. She hadn't been part of any major projects yet, except for voicing Lisa's friend in the animated series "The Simpsons" and appearing in the series "Poirot" and "Foyle's War".

During auditions, she faced harshness from Konchalovsky, as reported by The Sun:
He [Konchalovsky] was very harsh during the audition and loved putting me in my place. There was a very misogynistic atmosphere, and I remember that by the time I left, I felt like a shell of my former self. This episode remains a terrible memory because you feel so insignificant.
In the end, Emily didn't pass the audition. The director chose his own wife, Yulia Vysotskaya, for the role of King Henry II's lover. The film itself was received with mixed reviews. On IMDB, its rating is 6.9 out of 10. Critics' opinions vary as well.

A reviewer under the nickname ma-cortes, for instance, calls the film "a brilliant adaptation of a classic movie" (let's remember that "The Lion in Winter" is a remake of the Oscar-winning 1968 film). However, the reviewer Traveller-1-1 considers it "incomplete":
The remake falls short of the original in every way. To begin with, the acting can at best be described as mediocre. Stewart and Close perform adequately, but the supporting actors seem like no more than cardboard puppets, delivering their lines without enthusiasm or vitality. Honestly, I didn't watch this movie to the end.

Another Henry

Although Emily Blunt did not make it into the film, she successfully auditioned for "Henry VIII" (2003) the same year. However, this time it was not for the role of a lover, but for the role of the king's wife.
A young blonde girl in a white historical dress against a red background
Emily Blunt in 'Henry VIII'
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Such is the irony of fate. The film itself, by the way, turned out more successful: it has a rating of 7.1 out of 10 on IMDB. Reviewers particularly praise the well-chosen cast:
Of course, Helena Bonham Carter plays the leading role of Anne Boleyn, and she is very good. But Emilia Fox (as Jane Seymour) and the incredibly young Emily Blunt (as Catherine Howard) also deserve praise for their performances.
How do you feel about directors casting their relatives or friends in roles?