Series creator Josh Schwartz reveals the 'mother!' star wanted to play Serena van der Woodsen, which ended up being portrayed by Blake Lively, on the show.
- Sep 16, 2017
AceShowbiz - Jennifer Lawrence could have taken a different path in her career. While she is famously known for her roles in critically-acclaimed movies like "Winter's Bone" and "Silver Linings Playbook" as well as box office hits such as "The Hunger Games" series and "X-Men" movies, Lawrence could have ended up on "Gossip Girl".
In a new interview with Vulture, series creator Josh Schwartz reveals that Lawrence once auditioned for the role of Serena van der Woodsen on the show. "We did not realize this at the time, but Jennifer Lawrence really wanted to play Serena and auditioned," Schwartz says. "This story came to us secondhand, but we were told she definitely auditioned and was bummed to not get it."
Schwartz didn't remember if he watched Lawrence's audition. "We can't remember if we saw it or not. It was ten years ago, and she would've been how old, 15?" he said. In fact, Lawrence would have been 16 at the time.
As we already knew, Lawrence didn't land the role, because Schwartz and co-creator Stephanie Savage had set their eyes on Blake Lively, who was 19 years old at the time, to be the "It" girl on The CW's once-hit teen drama series.
Lively recently revealed that she almost turned down the role, because she had decided to quit acting at the time. "I said, 'No, I want to go to college. Thank you, though,' " she told Vanity Fair. "Then they said, 'O.K., you can go to Columbia [University] one day a week. After the first year [of the show], it'll quiet down. Your life will go back to normal and you can start going to school. We can't put it in writing, but we promise you can go.' So that's why I said, 'O.K. You know what? I'll do this.' "
That arrangement never worked though. She said with a laugh, "When they say, 'We promise, but we can't put it in writing,' there's a reason they can't put it in writing." She added, "But no, the show didn't slow down. It just got more and more."
Lawrence certainly has nothing to regret now, as she has become one of the most-wanted A-list actresses following her award-winning performances in "Silver Linings Playbook" and "American Hustle". Her new movie "mother!", which is directed by Darren Aronofsky, received positive reviews when it debuted at the Venice Film Festival. It opens in U.S. theaters on September 15.
