8 actors who absolutely blew the audition for the biggest roles of their careers

An unfortunate aspect about life is that much of our long-term success depend entirely on singular moments. One exam can tell you whether you've passed or failed a year of study, while a twenty-minute job interview can completely change your career or leave you licking your wounds.

The same goes for acting, especially when you're just starting out in show business. While the biggest names get cast based on their past work, most performers have to prove their talent in an audition - so you definitely want to give it your all in the moment. However, some actors still managed to land an incredible role even after their auditions were terrible...

1. Kit Harington

The day before he auditioned for the role of Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, the actor got into a fight, meaning he had to turn up to the important day with a black eye. It wasn't too glamorous either, as the incident happened in a McDonald's. However, in typical Jon Snow fashion, the fight happened because of his own moral compulsion. Harington started the brawl after a stranger repeatedly insulted the woman he was with. A true Stark.

2. Riz Ahmed

In the lead up to Rogue One, Ahmed actually continued to audition after he got the job. He continued to send in tapes, each in a different costume, much to the confusion of the production team. He believed he hadn't done his best work in his initial audition and tried to one-up himself, which thankfully the producers took as a sign of dedication to the part.

3. Mel Gibson

Gibson was only asked to audition for Mad Max because he got into a fight the previous day, and the casting agency liked his bruised look when he dropped by to support a friend. He was asked to come in again when he healed up, and learn a long speech for the audition, but he never memorized the lines. According to Gibson, "I ad-libbed what I could remember, and I guess they bought it".

4. Emilia Clarke

Now this is an odd one. When she felt that her Game of Thrones audition wasn't going well, the actress desperately asked if she could make them all some tea or anything else to help it go down well. Doubling down on her desperation, the casting directors got her to dance for them, which somehow got her the part...

5. Chris Hemsworth

Hemsworth's Thor audition didn't go so well, so he wasn't one of the four who made it to the final round. However, he wouldn't let it go and instead recorded a tape himself, which he filmed with his mother. He got the tape through and was given a second chance, ending up stealing the role away from his little brother Liam.

6. Keira Knightley

When auditioning for A Dangerous Method, the actress had a pretty bad time of it. It's weird enough filming a role where you have to make lots of sex faces, but showing the director the expressions you'd pull in a Skype interview is awkward as hell...

7. Zac Efron

When he was auditioning for the role of Link in Hairspray, Efron was given one instruction by the director that he couldn't manage: don't smile. "I couldn't do it, it was impossible," he told Cosmopolitan. "I was such a smiley kid, I couldn't do it. It took me like four or five tries and he was just shaking his head and making fun of me the whole time".

8. Benedict Cumberbatch

When auditioning for Sherlock, Cumberbatch started off his audition by making things pretty damn awkward. Thinking he was reading a scene with Mrs. Hudson, he mistook one of the producers for the character because "she had tea and biscuits".

Not all auditions will completely change an actor's career path, but the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock or Chris Hemsworth in Thor definitely did have a huge impact on their careers. If things had gone a different way, they would still be kicking themselves over one audition gone wrong.