Famous people who lied to get ahead in their careers -

We’ve all gently elaborated on our skill sets once or twice to get a job—we’re looking at you, fake Excel users—and it’s not so different in Hollywood, though it is slightly more exciting. But in the entertainment industry, there’s a secret that most talent agents will tell their clients, which is to say that you can do any skill a producer or casting director might ask of you because if you land the job you can simply learn the skill later. You might be thinking that those lies could end disastrously, and indeed they have in many cases! But in others, those lies are why some of the celebrities we know and love found their way to fame.

To see which beloved stars lied to get ahead in their careers, click through.

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Whoopi Goldberg -

Born Caryn Elaine Johnson, Whoopi Goldberg knows the power of bending the truth. Early on in her career, she told casting directors she was older so that they'd consider her more seriously. On her resume, she switched her year of birth from 1955 to 1949, later explaining, "I lied about my age for a long time because nobody would hire me to act. Everyone said I was too young. So, when I was 20, I put six years on my life."

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Chloë Grace Moretz -

Chloë Grace Moretz told a daring lie about her nationality to Martin Scorsese to land the role of Isabelle in 2011's 'Hugo.' She told him she was British, like the character, though she's American. In the audition, she "spoke in a British accent the whole time," she told The Mirror in 2011, adding that she'd picked up the rhythm of the accent when living in London for five months. It was good enough to convince Scorsese, who luckily wasn't upset when he found out he'd been fooled.

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Anne Hathaway -

While auditioning for 'Brokeback Mountain' (2005), Hathaway lied to director Ang Lee about knowing how to ride a horse. The actress told Out magazine, "My parents have given me a lot of gifts in my life, and one of them is: If you're ever asked if you can do anything, say yes. You can learn anything in two weeks if you're motivated enough. So I'd never been on a horse, and I replied, 'Oh yeah, I'm a really good rider.' So I knew I had to learn to ride, and I got really, really, really good."

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Anne Hathaway -

But she suffered for it once on set. She wasn't informed that her horse was a "verbal command horse," so it wouldn't follow her directions. "And I went to a rehearsal in front of 300 extras, all of whom work in rodeos, and the horse wouldn't do a damn thing I wanted it to. And at the end it threw me—in front of everyone."

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Rachel McAdams - When she was being considered for a role in Terrence Malick's 'To The Wonder' (2012), Rachel McAdams was asked if she had any issue working with horses, to which she replied that she loved them. In truth, she's allergic to them and was, at the time, terrified of them. But she got the part and controlled her allergies with antihistamines. The tougher part was overcoming her fear! Luckily, she pulled it off.

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Robert Pattinson -

Because he'd experienced a bit of a career dry spell after 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' (2005), Pattinson admitted to The Mirror in 2011 that he would tell casting directors in LA that he was in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art of Oxford which was why he wasn't working. "If you've got an English accent you can get away with it," he said.

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Robert Pattinson -

But then when Brits started populating LA, Pattinson said the fib stopped working. "So then I pretended to be American for a bit," he said, adding that he would try to keep an American accent through auditions. "When Twilight came out, I still tried to pretend to be American but people thought I was insane, so I stopped."

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Eddie Redmayne -

When auditioning for his role in the TV show 'Elizabeth I,' Eddie Redmayne lied about being able to ride horses, and he paid for it dearly once he was atop a stallion. "They called action and I basically went ferociously down at 100 miles an hour. I almost killed myself, almost killed half of the crew," Redmayne revealed on Conan O'Brien's late night show. "[Director] Tom Hooper comes from behind Helen Mirren with a huge loud speaker and goes, 'You're a [ ] liar, Redmayne.'" Luckily Hooper didn't fire him, but rather sent him for horseback riding lessons.

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Chris Hemsworth -

Most men lie upwards about their height, but Chris Hemsworth admitted in a 2016 interview with RadioTimes that he "normally" lowered his real height during casting, which is 6 feet and three inches, when auditioning for roles that wanted shorter actors. Thankfully the casting for Thor wanted actors to be 6 feet and one inch minimum!

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Liam Hemsworth -

Maybe lying runs in the family! To land his early role in the Miley Cyrus-starring flick 'The Last Song' (2010), Liam Hemsworth lied about being able to convincingly play volleyball. During an interview with Collider, he admitted it was "the hardest thing I've ever had to do" and said, "We had a day where we had 300 extras there, watching us play against professional volleyball players, and they made us look stupid."

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Mila Kunis -

Mila Kunis was just 14 when she auditioned for 'That '70s Show,' though she cleverly made it seem to casting directors that she was older. During an interview with Jay Leno, Kunis said, "I told them I was gonna be 18...it's not technically a lie, because at one point, given all things went right, I was gonna be 18." The crew eventually found out, but she was too perfect for the role.

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Laurence Fishburne -

A young Laurence Fishburne once lied to Francis Ford Coppola about being 16 when he auditioned for the role of 17-year-old Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller in 'Apocalypse Now' (1979). He was only 14 at the time! In a CBC interview, Fishburne said Coppola asked a secretary if she thought he could pass for 18 and she said yes, but he added, "I think they knew. I don't think I was fooling anybody."

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Idris Elba -

Idris Elba revealed in a 2019 Hot Ones interview that the casting director for 'The Wire' told him to pretend he was American while auditioning because creator David Simon didn't want any non-American actors cast in the series. Elba managed to keep up the accent until his fourth audition, during which time he was asked about his background.

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Idris Elba -

Elba took the high road. "My parents told me not to lie. You gotta look someone in the eye and be honest. I have lied. It's never worked out for me," he said, so he came clean and asked them not to get the casting director in trouble. Though he lied, he still got a role as Stringer Bell.

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George Lazenby -

The Australian actor completely fabricated his acting experience when he convinced producers that he was qualified to step into Sean Connery's shoes as James Bond in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (1969). Lazenby made it to the audition in front of director Peter Hunt, and that's when he finally came clean. But he told the New York Post that Hunt was so impressed that he fooled the "ruthless" producers that he told Lazenby that if he kept up the lie he'd make him Bond.

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Gillian Anderson -

To land the role of Dana Scully on 'The X-Files,' Gillian Anderson lied about her age. She told NPR, "I lied about my age on the first audition. So I said that I was 27. So that's how you get that job." She was actually 24 at the time.

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Daniel Craig -

Daniel Craig has been very open about how he used to lie about being a skilled horse rider in order to land roles. He said he'd somehow got away with not learning even when he actually had to get on a horse, but that all changed when he was cast in the sci-fi/western 'Cowboys & Aliens' (2011). His lie finally came to light, as he was forced to learn how to actually ride horses. Fortunately he wound up liking the experience.

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George Clooney -

A young George Clooney was desperate to land decent roles so that he could get into the Screen Actors Guild and have a real shot at success in Hollywood, so in an audition he lied and said he was in a movie called 'Cat People' (1982). Unfortunately, the casting director he lied to was also the casting director on 'Cat People.' It worked out, though, after he begged her for help to get into SAG.

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Jameela Jamil -

Jameela Jamil lied to both the casting director and creator of 'The Good Place' about her acting and comedy experience—namely that she had any. She told the casting director she'd been on stage "but I was talking about my school days," and she told the creator she'd done "loads" of improv comedy, in England, though she hadn't at all.

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Paul Mescal -

Paul Mescal's character Connell in the hit series 'Normal People' is behind the wheel quite a lot, but in the audition process the actor's agent lied about the status of his driver's license—the reality being that it did not exist. Mescal told Entertainment Weekly, "My agent was like, 'We are not losing this job over you not being able to drive so I'll tell production that you can and in the meantime, you go off and rattle through as many lessons as you can.'"

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Phoebe Dynevor -

Phoebe Dynevor lied about having horseback riding experience during her audition for 'Bridgerton.' The actress told Glamour that she'd always said that she didn't like horses, but then when they asked if she rode she replied "Yeah, I'm amazing. I've ridden so many horses." Fortunately she learned quick and came to love it.

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Laura Fraser -

Landing the role of Lydia Rodarte Qualye on 'Breaking Bad' was certainly a career high, but Laura Fraser had to lie about being able to speak German to get it. She'd only learned the basics when she was around 12, but she told Rolling Stone that she was still totally unprepared for the "corporate-speak in German" which was a "nightmare" to learn. Now, however, she says "It's my party trick."

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Carla Gugino -

When she was 16, Carla Gugino lied about her age and said she was 14 in order to land her first film role in 'Troop Beverly Hills' (1989). She told talk show host James Corden that "before IMDb, you could lie about your age," and added that she only revealed the truth of her age once they'd shot enough footage that they couldn't replace her. But the director wasn't pleased when he found out, and told her he would never have hired her if he knew.

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Ben Hardy -

Bryan Singer wanted someone who actually knew how to play the drums to portray Queen drummer Roger Taylor in 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (2018), and Ben Hardy wanted the role badly, "So I told him I could play the drums—which I couldn't at the time." Singer then asked Hardy to record himself playing a song so that he could show producers and Hardy "went away in a massive panic." But he bought the cheapest drum kit he could find, and asked a local drum teacher to teach him to play the song as soon as possible. Lucky for him, it all worked out.

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Sadie Sink -

While auditioning for the role of Max in 'Stranger Things,' the casting director wanted someone who had skateboarding experience, so to make up for that, when they asked alternatively if she had any rollerblading experience, she lied and said yes. She told Coveteur it wasn't technically a lie because she did rollerblade in the past, but "in reality, I probably haven't [roller]skated for a year."

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Lisanne Falk -

Lisanne Falk (second from left) told casting directors for 'Heathers' (1989) that she was 19 when she was actually 23. Falk told Fox News she didn't want to lose the opportunity, and that she got away with it until she spoke casually about living with her boyfriend on set and people asked her if her mother approved of the arrangement.

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Ceyair Wright -

Ceyair Wright was cast as basketball legend LeBron James' son in 2021's 'Space Jam: A New Legacy,' a role that understandably required that he had experience as a basketball player. Wright told the casting director he played varsity, but he didn't actually play the sport at all, he revealed to People. He quickly picked up some skills with a basketball coach!

Sources: (Looper) (Vocal Media) (BuzzFeed) (Ranker)

See also: History's most notorious lies, hoaxes, and deceptions

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