Several actors auditioned, read or screen-tested for roles in the Star Wars films, but the evidence does not support calling all 15 names in a typical “almost cast” list confirmed auditionees. Carrie Fisher, Kurt Russell, Sylvester Stallone, Saoirse Ronan and others have described specific casting steps; other familiar stories concern meetings, offers or secondhand reports. Here is what the available accounts actually establish.
How the original Star Wars casting worked
Producer Gary Kurtz recalled that the filmmakers sent an open casting call to agents and acting schools, then moved through auditions, video screen tests and chemistry assessments. In his 2013 interview with The Guardian, Kurtz described an open call in September 1975, three days of video screen tests in December and a final decision before filming began in March 1976. He estimated the team saw roughly 200 to 300 people a day during the open-call period; those are his retrospective figures, not an independently verified count.
The role briefs were character types rather than rigid checklists: Luke was an approximately 18-year-old, naive farm boy; Han a roughly 25-year-old cowboy; and Leia feisty, strong, independent and ironic. Kurtz said physical presence and chemistry mattered alongside the readings. A screen test or finalist position is therefore a distinct, later stage—not a synonym for simply being considered.
Actors with specific audition, reading or screen-test accounts
Carrie Fisher — Leia, Star Wars (1977)
Fisher’s published account describes reading for Leia in a shared casting session, then reading with Harrison Ford before she received the casting call the following week. She wrote that she met with the directors for Leia in Star Wars and Carrie in Carrie on the first day. The publisher presents the story in The Princess Diarist, her memoir. Fisher was not merely considered: her account describes the audition process that led to her casting.
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Kurt Russell — Luke and Han, original film
Russell later said he interviewed for both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. TIME reports that an audition tape exists and quotes his account that he withdrew when he needed to accept a Western television job. This is Russell’s retrospective description of the process; it does not mean he reached the same stage for both roles.
Sylvester Stallone — Han Solo, original film
Stallone has said he auditioned for Han and recalled that George Lucas did not see him as right for the role. The account is included in TIME’s retrospective on actors who came close to Star Wars casting. It is Stallone’s own recollection, not evidence that he advanced to a screen test or finalist group.
Cindy Williams — Leia, original film
Williams reached a screen test for Leia, according to TIME. That is a more specific stage than a general audition claim, though the account does not establish that she received the part or how close the final decision was.
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Saoirse Ronan — The Force Awakens (2015)
Ronan said she went in and read for The Force Awakens, as reported by TIME. Her account establishes a read for the film but does not specify which character she tried for.
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Eddie Redmayne — Kylo Ren, The Force Awakens
ABC News reports that Redmayne auditioned for Kylo Ren. The report supports an audition claim; it does not provide enough detail to characterize the exact material he read or how far he progressed.
Stephen Stanton — Admiral Raddus, Rogue One (2016)
Stanton told the official StarWars.com interview that his audition was kept secret: he did not know it was for Rogue One or for Admiral Raddus. He later learned he had booked the role. This is a firsthand account of an audition for an initially undisclosed project.
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People linked to roles, but not confirmed as auditionees
“Almost played” is broader than “auditioned.” The following stories are relevant casting history, but their evidence describes consideration, contact, an offer or a reported reading—not a confirmed audition in every case.
Christopher Walken — Han Solo, original film
Harrison Ford said Walken was the other choice among a narrowed group of finalists, as TIME recounts. A separate result attributes a screen-test recollection to Walken, but the available reporting does not establish it as securely as the finalist account. The supported description is that he was a final alternative; avoid presenting an audition or screen test as settled fact.
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Jodie Foster and Amy Irving — Leia, original film
Fisher recalled that Foster and Irving were “up for” Leia, according to ABC News. That supports their being in contention as Fisher understood it, but it does not establish that either completed an audition or screen test.
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Leonardo DiCaprio — Anakin Skywalker, prequel films
DiCaprio said he met George Lucas about the part and did not feel ready to take it. TIME characterizes the role as apparently offered, while ABC reports the meeting account. A meeting or opportunity is not proof of an audition, so his story belongs among near-casting accounts rather than confirmed auditionees.
Al Pacino — Han Solo, original film
Pacino said he was offered the movie and declined because he did not understand the script, according to ABC News. His account concerns an offer, not an audition.
Michael Fassbender — The Force Awakens
Fassbender said he had talks with director J. J. Abrams about possibly appearing, ABC reports. He did not name a role or specify an audition, so neither should be inferred.
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Paul Walker — Anakin Skywalker, prequels
TIME quotes Walker saying he was disappointed not to get the part, while also acknowledging that he was unsure how close he came. That is an unsuccessful pursuit as Walker described it, not a clearly documented audition stage.
Tupac Shakur — Mace Windu, prequels
TIME attributes the report that Shakur read for Mace Windu to Rick Clifford, a Death Row Records engineer. Because that is a secondhand account rather than Shakur’s own recollection, the careful wording is that he reportedly read for the role.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to read “15 stars who auditioned” lists
The 15 names above do not all belong in a list of confirmed auditionees. Some accounts establish a read, interview or screen test; others establish only a meeting, offer, consideration or a secondhand report. TIME’s retrospective also cautions that near-casting stories can be rumor or interpretation. For a precise account, retain the specific verb the source supports and do not turn “was up for” or “met with” into “auditioned.”
For the original film in particular, the distinction matters: an open call led into multiple rounds, tests and chemistry assessments. A person reaching one stage does not establish that they reached the next, and a story about receiving an offer does not establish an audition at all.
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