Although she has made a phenomenal transition to dramatic acting in recent years, Emma Stone really began her career by performing in comedic roles. Making a serious impression in movies like Superbad and Easy A at a young age, the 28-year-old actress proved early on that she could deliver the laughs with ease. However, she apparently didn't always have a knack for sketch comedy, at least. During an episode of The Tonight Show, Emma Stone revealed that she auditioned for All That when she was 12, and really it didn't go well at all. She explained:
Well, I guess it was sort-of like SNL, except that I didn't know that you had to have characters. So, I thought they were going to give us sketches, and then like five minutes before I went into the room they said, 'You need to have three characters when you go in the room.'.. And then I made up a couple of characters.
During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Emma Stone confessed that she tried out for a spot on the cast of Nickelodeon's All That during her pre-teen years. However, minutes before entering her audition she learned that she was supposed to have prepared characters ready to act out. This sort of preparation has become vital for many famous sketch series, as it has often resulted in the development of iconic characters. For example, legendary Saturday Night Live character like Harry Caray was used by Will Ferrell during his audition, and then later incorporated into actual sketches. Emma Stone didn't know this, and it instantly put her at a disadvantage.
In a mad dash to try and pull it off, she came up with some characters off of the top of her head She elaborated further on her last minute characters:
I remember that one was a cheerleader that couldn't spell what she was cheering. So I was like 'Be aggressive, B-E A-R?' And then there was another one that was actually pretty nuts that was a babysitter who is possessed. So as she is reading books to the kids, she's like, 'Goldilocks and the [possessed voice] three bears.
If I'm being perfectly honest, I have to say that I'm fairly impressed with her resourcefulness. At age 12 most of us were struggling with long division, and I don't think most of us could've come up with illiterate cheerleaders and possessed babysitters as legitimate characters. Kudos for your valiant effort, Ms. Stone.
Of course, if you watched All That during its heyday then you already know how this process turned out for Emma Stone. She didn't get the part on the Nickelodeon series, and as a result she had to wait several years before her role as Jules in Superbad brought her real mainstream recognition. That said, in the years since Emma Stone entered the public eye she has had the opportunity to successfully appear on Saturday Night Live several times, so she clearly has figured out how to prepare for sketch comedy.
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