Outer Banks Star Madelyn Cline Failed Her Audition For This Classic Jeff Bridges Western

Botched auditions in Hollywood — especially about beloved and extremely popular movies and TV shows — have become somewhat of an intriguing and sought-after lore over the years. So here's another one for those who can't get enough of them. "Outer Banks'" Madelyn Cline — who also popped up in the recent legacyquel of "I Know What You Did Last Summer," which we reviewed here — had the opportunity to appear alongside such acting legends as Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin, but she royally messed it up due to inexperience and nerves. Of course, I'm talking about the Coen Brothers' 2010 western "True Grit" — the second and more faithful adaptation of Charles Portis's 1968 novel of the same name — that earned no less than 10 Oscar nominations 15 years ago (it's somewhat outrageous it didn't get to win any of them).

Given the amount and level of talent behind the production (in addition to its directors and cast, it was also shot by master cinematographer Roger Deakins and composed by Carter Burwell), anyone would've been overwhelmed to perform under that kind of pressure, let alone a 12-year-old girl with basically no credits to her name. Still, Cline got pretty close to succeeding — which is no short of admirable, considering there were about 15,000 applicants for the role of Mattie Ross — and according to her, it was a tight call between her and a couple of other young women before Hailee Steinfeld snatched the part in the end.

When interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter in 2020, after Netflix's "Outer Banks" became a surprise hit, Cline recalled what it was like to audition for a Coen Brothers film. She said:

"It was probably the closest I had ever gotten to a project besides 'Outer Banks' and a couple of other projects I ended up testing for a little later on in L.A. But I do remember being so nervous. I remember going to the open call and just having absolute word vomit. (Laughs.) I remember not knowing what to do or what to say, and crying afterwards because I blanked on the words. I got so nervous and stuttered my way through the audition. (Laughs.) But yeah, I remember at that point, it was pretty close. It was between me and a couple other girls, and Hailee (Steinfeld) ended up getting it. And congrats to her. But yeah, that was the first project I ever got really, really close to, and it was a pretty cool experience to learn what that was like at a young age."

Given how awesome "True Grit" turned out in the end, it's probably all for the best that Cline didn't get to be Ross since Steinfeld absolutely crushed the role. Similar to her contemporary, she didn't have a lot of experience to pull from (she briefly appeared in two TV shows and two short films by that point), but she was clearly ready for a career-making turn. Of course, when it comes to "True Grit," we all tend to remember Bridges's Rooster Cogburn first, a half-eyed sonuvagun of a deputy U.S. Marshal the actor nailed with aplomb, but Steinfeld's fiery performance was just as vital in the movie's success. After all, it didn't make over $250 million at the box office by coincidence.