Gwen Stefani almost made a Sweet Escape to the silver screen back in 2005.
Stefani, 52, was a guest on this Thursday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show with host Ellen DeGeneres – where she completed a round of Ellen’s game show segment, Burning Questions. While in the hot seat, Stefani gushed about her husband Blake Shelton, did a singing impression of Julie Andrews, and recalled the movie role that she lost to Angelina Jolie during the height of her music career.
Stefani revealed that she lost the role in Mr. and Mrs. Smith
The signature red-lipped Rich Girl was asked the question, “What movie role have you auditioned for that people would be surprised to know?”
Stefani spun around in her chair and hit the red buzzer button – The Voice style – with the response, “Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Angelina beat me.”
“Wow,” Ellen replied, “That could’ve gone a whole different way. Talk about sliding doors.”
Watch the segment below:
Some fans took to the comment section of the YouTube video with their opinions on Stefani starring in the 2005 film. “I could honestly see her playing that role of mr and mrs smith,” one user wrote.
The movie, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, ended up starring Angelina Jolie and her ex-husband Brad Pitt as the film’s title characters.
The movie is centered around Jane and John Smith, who are stuck in a stagnant marriage while both hiding a secret from each other – that they are assassins working for opposite agencies. It became a huge success as a $487 million box office hit and is now known as one of the most memorable films for both actors’ careers.
Stefani previously admitted to losing the role to Jolie
Although Gwen Stefani has become known more as a musician than an actress, she has shared her feelings on losing the movie’s lead role in interviews prior. When speaking with Vogue in 2008, Stefani spilled the beans about what acting meant to her and how she got her hopes up before losing the role to Jolie.
“It was between me and Angelina Jolie, and I’m like, ‘Oh, great. I got a shot here,'” Stefani stated, “The whole acting thing really feels like something I could do. Whenever I’ve done it, whenever I had moments where it works, it’s just like performing. You hit a moment. And that’s what movies are: a series of moments.”
On an episode of The Howard Stern Show in 2016, Stefani also said she felt like she almost got the part after going to multiple auditions. However, although she wanted to be an actress, making music was ultimately more important to her.
Although Stefani may have not landed the iconic role in the 2005 hit film, she still went on to drop some of the biggest music albums of her career and become a household name in the entertainment industry.