Nicholas Hoult once auditioned for ‘90210’... and it did not go well

For child actors, it seems as though there’s always that awkward period between “cute kid star” and “employable adult thespian.” Of course, we all go through that stage, it’s just that kids who find early success in Hollywood often have to do it on camera. Nicholas Hoult, the adorable child star of About A Boy, felt that stage acutely at age 18 when the already established actor received a relatively harsh rejection from the casting team of Beverly Hills 90210… the reboot.

“I did one reading, and then they were like, ‘Great, thanks,’” Hoult told The Hollywood Reporter. “I was like, ‘Should we put it on tape?’ And they were like, ‘No, I think we’re good.’

Despite Hoult’s success in a British show targeted at the same demographic (the highly acclaimed Skins), the casting team for 90210 hardly gave him a shot. Which turned out to be for the best — at least for Hoult. The CW network show was cancelled after just one poorly received season.

Still, Hoult wanted to make a name for himself in Hollywood that extended beyond “that cute kid who once acted opposite Hugh Grant.” As we now know, it happened — thanks to roles in X-Men: First Class, Mad Max: Fury Road, Warm Bodies, and Oscar winner The Favourite.

Currently, Hoult stars alongside Elle Fanning in the absurd and hilarious period comedy The Great. His role as Russia’s Tzar Peter affords him the kind of glamour and acclaim that 90210 never could have. For example: “Are you interested in how I got dog poo on my face when truffling?” he asks THR. “So I was snuffling through the woods,” he said, recounting the filming of a particular scene. “We finished a take, and there was a slightly green, weird mud on my face. And I was like, ‘Oh. This is definitely poop.’ For some reason, it had snowed in England. Didn’t see the poo.”

Erm, what is the opposite of ‘Huzzah’?

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