was she ever a contender for Closer?

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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Anna Friel

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TheArchKookPetulia — 19 years ago(November 03, 2006 02:32 PM)

i saw in her imdb info that she played the part of Alice on stage and was just wondering if she was ever considered for the film. i think she's a great actress and would have done a terrific job.

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mitsawokett_uk — 19 years ago(November 21, 2006 05:12 PM)

Apparently not according to some interviews that were out with her over here in Britain during a push for Goal
She says that Patrick Marber (the Playright and Director of Closer and who wrote the award-winning screenplay) didnt put her forward to Director Mike Nicholls
According to her, if she has been quoted correctly, people keep asking why she didnt play the role as apparently she would have been much better than Natalie Portman - who only was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for it

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TheArchKookPetulia — 19 years ago(November 25, 2006 01:50 PM)

but awards are based so much more on the money and politics of the industry. personally, i think the role should have been played by someone with the ability to project much more experience. i think anna friel or maggie gylennhal(who also performed the role on stage) would have been much more beleiveable.

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cata_caterpillar_girl — 18 years ago(October 17, 2007 10:02 AM)

agreed and agreed.

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pracad — 18 years ago(September 23, 2007 07:56 PM)

Natalie Portman was really terrible in the film. It would have been a whole lot better if Anna played her role instead.
None of those awards mean anything, it's all about politics etc not real talent..

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kittymou1 — 17 years ago(May 13, 2008 10:39 PM)

I disagree with above, Natalie was fantastic as Alice in my opinion, she's a great, believable actress. But it would've been interesting to see Anna Friels take on Alice.

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sirjeremy — 14 years ago(December 03, 2011 01:42 PM)

A complete travesty she was never up for the role in the film version. I was fortunate to see her in the play back in '99 on Broadway and she remains the definitve Alice in my eyes. Such a shame this performance was never captured on celluloid so more people could see it. Natalie Portman was OK but insubstantial and didn't create a fully-fledged performance - Anna gave this role depth and a unique blend of sexiness and vulnerability. She was captivating in the way that Natalie Portman was not. I'm so, so glad I saw this.