This Is the Reason Taylor Swift Wasn't Cast as Eponine in 'Les Misérables' Movie

Taylor Swift was up for the role of Eponine in the 2012 film Les Misérables, and now, the director of that movie, Tom Hooper, is explaining why he passed on her for the iconic role.

“She had auditioned for Les Mis. She rather brilliantly auditioned for Éponine. I didn’t cast her, but I got very close to it. Ultimately, I couldn’t quite believe Taylor Swift was a girl people would overlook. So it didn’t quite feel right for her for the most flattering reason,” Tom told Vulture. The role of Éponine eventually went to Samantha Barks (pictured here).

He continued, “But I knew she was curious to work on a musical. When [Cats] came up, I wrote to her and just said, ‘Would you like to meet? Would you like to see the world I’m creating?’ And I did a presentation. Eve Stewart had these wonderful paintings she did of the world. I had a ten-second clip of a dancer with fur, lifelike. That was my pitch. She loved it and was very gracious and really supportive from then on. At that point, I had no idea she’d end up getting involved in writing the new song and getting involved as a lyricist,” Tom continued.

“In the show, [Taylor's role is] performed by two women. And for a long time, I thought, Well, it’s going to be Taylor Swift and X. Then eventually, part of me was like, Why does it have to be two people? I called Andrew [Lloyd Webber] and said, ‘Just remind me why.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, we only gave it to two people because we felt guilty that the other girl didn’t have enough to do.’ Apparently, it was originally designed for one person. I called Taylor up. ‘Do you mind if you do it by yourself?’ She was obviously totally happy with it,” Tom added.

So there you go!