We Are the Champions (of casting)

Sascha Baron Cohen was originally cast to play Freddie Mercury in the Queen biopic, but when the deal fell through, Dominic Cooper was slated to step in. That didn’t happen either.

Sasha Baron Cohen almost played Freddie Mercury (above) and

Dominic Cooper (below) missed it by thiiiis much!

But now the film is in the can (or on the drive as the case may be) and it’s definitely, no-doubt-about it, absolutely Rami Malek who’s playing the legendary rock star. The film’s called Bohemian Rhapsody and if you haven’t seen the trailer, you should definitely check it out:

Meanwhile, I’m still dream-casting a Led Zeppelin biopic. [see my choices here!]

It’s always a slippery slope when casting someone to play an iconic person everyone knows. For instance, I have always thought the casting of Jamie Lee Curtis to play Marilyn Monroe was appallingly bad. But just recently, James Franco (who has believably portrayed James Dean) 100% nailed it as cult film director Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist.

In my case, I was lucky enough to be able to cast my own “me” for the audiobook reading of my autobiography, So L.A. – A Hollywood Memoir.

Contrary to a visual performance, and because I am not a celebrity, I chose someone who actually doesn’t sound or talk like me. I know I’m not the most dynamic speaker. So that is why I chose Katherine Brannan – her reading of my book is upbeat, funny, and enthusiastic. I love it! (And yes, I listened to *a lot* of auditions.)

So L.A. – A Hollywood Memoir will be on Audible.com very soon, but I have a sneak peek (um, listen) just for you.

Click here to download an MP3 of the introduction and first chapter. (You’ll find another goodie in the folder too, as my way of saying thanks for sticking with me!)

If you’re more of a page-turning (or screen-swiping) type, the book is currently available in paperback and Kindle.

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