Every actor has that one role that got away… or maybe a few. For Outer Banks’ Chase Stokes, it sounds like Top Gun: Maverick could be atop his own list. The actor shared his audition story, and be warned, what happened might give you some major second-hand embarrassment.
It’s the end of an era for Chase Stokes and the cast of Outer Banks, now that the series’ ending is streaming with a Netflix subscription. While doing press for the final season, he decided to get his Top Gun: Maverick audition story off his chest. As he said:
I once read for a movie that had to do with airplanes, and so I thought the audition was me as the said driver of an airplane…. And so I did the whole audition as a pilot, and they gave me a note. And the note was, ‘You are actually not flying the plane. You were in the air traffic control tower, and you’re just talking to the pilots. You’re not the cool guy.’ And I was like, ‘Oh OK, well, I can do it again.’ And they’re like, ‘No, that’s OK. You can leave.’
Stokes shared his anecdote with co-star Madison Bailey while the two were playing a game of Truth or Lie with Entertainment Weekly. She correctly guessed that it was “true,” and then he revealed that it was for Maverick. In his words:
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Honestly, I should have probably read the sides…. Read the materials. Don’t wing it. It was Top Gun.
Whoa, what a bummer! Top Gun: Maverick sounds like it would have been a dream for Stokes, who was in his early twenties when he tried out for the role. However, because he didn’t really read all the specifics of what he was reading for, he ended up leaving the audition in disappointment. As Stokes added:
It still cuts deep, honestly. Great movie.
The rejection associated with being an actor is seriously a lot. And, Chase Stokes’ confession about what happened with his Maverick audition puts us in the shoes of what it’s like.There’s also a lesson in there for everyone, too. “Winging it” might seem cool (and be a fantastic pun for this specific topic), but being prepared definitely pays off more in the end.
I don’t doubt that tons of other high-profile actors auditioned for Top Gun: Maverick, and didn’t get it either. Glen Powell for example, originally tried out for the role of Rooster and lost out to Miles Teller. Reportedly, Nicolas Hoult also was in the running for the same role, and wasn’t chosen.
But, in Powell’s case Tom Cruise actually insisted he be in the movie in another role, and he ended up playing Hangman, instead. Then there’s Austin Butler, who was invited to audition for Maverick, but had to pass in order to be in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
Hey, everything happens for a reason. And, maybe not getting Maverick paved the way for Stokes to get another role. When you’re done bingeing the actor in Outer Banks, you can look forward to seeing the actor next in AMC’s Thunder Road. It’s about the “need for speed” in pro racing. It’s expected to premiere in 2027.