No character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens drew more attention than that of Kylo Ren. That was partly due to the acting chops of Adam Driver, who put on one of the darkest performances of any character in the Star Wars movie universe.

However, what if Driver wasn’t the one to portray Kylo Ren?

There actually could’ve been a different person taking on the role, as A.V. Club notes actor Eddie Redmayne (most famous for his role in The Theory of Everything) actually had a shot at being Kylo Ren.

He just apparently royally screwed up his audition for the role.

The audition started with Redmayne actually having to read a section of Pride and Prejudice, if only to keep the real script under wraps and away from leaking more than it was going to.

Then, as A.V. Club describes it, all heck broke loose:

Then, they told him he’d be playing a villain, and Redmayne knew exactly what direction to take. “If you’re me,” he says, “you then put some ridiculous voice on.” He says the audition from that point on was “hilarious,” because he kept trying different variations of the Darth Vader voice—complete with breathing sound, apparently—and casting director Nina Gold just patiently sat there and waited for him to finish. After ten ridiculous voices, Gold asked if he had anything else, and he responded, “No.” 

Let’s just say the folks casting this movie didn’t want a Darth Vader clone or someone playing a voice-over type character.

Then again, Adam Driver did some of that, including a changed voice when he put the mask on as Kylo Ren.

Still, had Redmayne realized that and got the part by just acting like he has in some pretty spectacular roles over the last few years…well, we may have a very different look and feel to one of the most iconic characters in the last four Star Wars movies (if not the total universe).

Don’t believe me? Just check out his role in Jupiter Ascending…we’re guessing you could see that type of character working as Kylo Ren too.

However, Driver got the part and will be forever known as “the guy who played Kylo Ren in that Star Wars movie.”

Could you imagine a more dramatic portrayal of an already over-dramatic character like Kylo Ren? Redmayne’s method acting certainly could’ve been an interesting addition to the role, but it is hard not to see Driver as Ren given the final product.

[A.V. Club]

About Andrew Coppens

Andy is a contributor to The Comeback as well as Publisher of Big Ten site talking10. He also is a member of the FWAA and has been covering college sports since 2011. Andy is an avid soccer fan and runs the Celtic FC site The Celtic Bhoys. If he's not writing about sports, you can find him enjoying them in front of the TV with a good beer!