Movies - TV
Marilyn Monroe Used An Unorthodox Technique To Nail Her Asphalt Jungle Audition
By CHRISTIAN GAINEY
Before 1950, Marilyn Monroe was only capable of landing bit roles, until she caught the eye of famed director John Huston. Monroe got the part and wowed audiences as Angela Phinlay in “The Asphalt Jungle,” and as Monroe recalled in her autobiography “My Story,” her unorthodox audition technique won her the role.
Monroe had practiced her lines for the part lying on a couch, as the character does in the scene, but standing in front of Huston for her audition, Monroe froze up until she remembered to lie down. “There wasn't any couch in the office,” the actress recalled, adding, “Lying on the floor was almost the same thing, however."
As Monroe lay on the floor, all her fears seemed to melt away, and she remembered all of her lines. Monroe's audition impressed Huston so much that he cast her on the spot, and her work in "The Asphalt Jungle" finally earned the struggling actress a fanbase. Soon after, Monroe became known as the blonde bombshell.