Zachary Levi says that he’s thankful for bombing his Guardians of the Galaxy audition before getting the lead role in Shazam! In a conversation with The Playlist, the actor talked about how James Gunn put in the good word for him over at Warner Bros. The audition didn’t go great, but the director saw something special in the effort. Clearly, Warner Bros. did too and it looks like they made the right decision because audiences loved Shazam! and are looking forward to Fury of the Gods when it drops. Levi has always been very open about his experiences in Hollywood and when it comes to his mental health. So, it shouldn’t come as any shock that he would share this story with the fans, and they’re thankful he did.
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“James [Gunn] and I knew each other, we were friends, we would have game nights at each other’s homes, had a lot of mutual friends,” Levi explains. “And so he had asked me to come in and read for Star-Lord, and I did, and then that led to the next step, and then all of a sudden I was camera testing. Oh man, I wanted that role so bad, like so, so, so, so bad. It came down to me, one other guy, and Chris Pratt, but Chris was always their favorite and he was hesitant to take it, which is understandable, I mean it’s a big franchise thing, it’s Marvel, does it work out, does it not work out? Is this what everyone is going to know me as for the rest of my life? All of those things that go through your head.”
“It didn’t go my way or anyone else’s way for that matter, but I hoped I left enough of a good impression with James that when I was auditioning for Shazam, and his very dear friend, and manager, and sometimes producing partner, Peter Safran, calls up James because this is how our industry works… Fortunately, I was in good standing with James,” Levi added.
“I try to be in good standing with as many people as I can be and try to be a decent person, and I think between that and how well James thought I did in the Star-Lord test, he continued, ‘Yeah man, you really should give Zach an opportunity at this. I really think he could be great.’ Was that the thing that sent it all over for me? I don’t know that, but I’m sure it was part of that conversation, absolutely. I’m indebted to James that he would believe in me enough to remember that and pass that info on.”
Would you have liked to see him as Star-Lord? Let us know down in the comments below!
