Actor Cary Grant might have starred in My Fair Woman, however he turned it down. It was removed from the primary well-known position that he turned down. Nevertheless, Grant had his causes for not deciding to play Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Woman. The actor knew that there can be backlash and needed completely no half in it.
Cary Grant is legendary for turning down roles
James Bawden and Ron Miller’s guide, Conversations with Basic Movie Stars, consists of an interview with Grant. He talked concerning the evolution of his profession by varied movement photos. Nevertheless, Grant was well-known for turning down huge roles, together with My Fair Woman.
Grant identified the “strangest-ever request” he bought was from previous C.B. DeMille for Samson and Delilah. In the meantime, he additionally turned down working with Billy Wilder in Sabrina as a result of he heard the well-known director didn’t like actors. Grant additionally handed on starring with Judy Garland in A Star Is Born as a result of he thought she can be “difficult to work with.”
Cary Grant declined ‘My Fair Lady’ over ‘backlash’
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Grant was requested to play Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, however he turned it down. The character is a phonetics professor who plans to idiot excessive society into considering a Cockney working-class lady is a cultured particular person. Nevertheless, Audrey Hepburn’s Eliza Doolittle is simply in it to enhance her probabilities of getting a well-paying job. Nevertheless, Grant thought actor Rex Harrison was the right performer for the half.
“It was Rex Harrison’s part,” Grant mentioned. “He’d done it on Broadway. And I was sorely tempted. Jack Warner offered me $1 million plus a piece of the action. And the costars were to be Audrey Hepburn and Jimmy Cagney. When Jimmy refused to come out of retirement, I had my reason for not signing.”
Grant continued: “I knew there would be a backlash, and Audrey felt it [because she took the part Julie Andrews had played opposite Harrison on Broadway.] I told Jack, ‘Not only will I not do it, but if you don’t use Rex, I even won’t go to see it.’”
The actor had a tough time performing in vaudeville
Based on the interview with Bawden, My Fair Woman wasn’t the one time Grant was confronted with a troublesome resolution. He was continuously confronted with harsh circumstances when working as a vaudeville actor. Nevertheless, Grant in the end made the choice to cool down in North America to pursue extra jobs in Hollywood.
“We’d work up to six performances a day and go on the all-night train to the next destination,” Grant recalled. “Had to sleep in the coach car. Three or four of us would bunk in a single room. Meals were cans of beans heated on radiators. You’d wash clothes in the bathtub. I was a stilt walker. That was my specialty.”
Grant concluded: “But I also performed in comedy skits. When the troupe returned to England, I decided to stay [behind]. There was more promise of jobs in the U.S. and Canada.”