4 Other Stars Were Considered for Lady Gaga's 'A Star Is Born' Role, Including 1 the Studio Couldn't Pay

Esperanza Spalding

Before Bradley Cooper took over directing the movie and landed the role of the starring man, Clint Eastwood was involved with the project. In 2012, Variety reported that he was considering then up-and-coming jazz artist Esperanza Spalding for the role.

Esperanza won Best New Artist at the Grammys in 2011 and picked up a couple more wins at the 2013 ceremony for her album Radio Music Society.

It isn’t immediately clear how far Esperanza got in the process. However, she was no longer mentioned as a possible frontrunner for the role when Bradley was attached to the project in 2015.