Nick Jonas’s audition video for WEST SIDE STORY

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 9:53pm

This has been making the rounds online today.

He sounds lovely singing Maria, but he reads old and isn’t a fabulous actor.

https://video.wmeagency.com/record/592

[ACL2006]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 10:04pm

That was horrendous. I've seen high school kids do better.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 10:07pm

LOLZZZZZZZZZZZZ

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 11:11pm

Damn I don’t know who leaked this or why but I know I wouldn’t want the auditions for things I didn’t get circulating around the internet. It’s not good and he didn’t get the role, no need to trample on his effort.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 11:19pm

This isn't good, but it begs another question:

Nick Jonas has been on Broadway, had supporting roles in blockbuster movies, and is in a band that's had 4 out of 5 albums go platinum. Why is he sending out self-tapes?

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 11:32pm

Wasn’t this leaked a couple years ago?

[Theatre Fan3]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 11:32pm

Thank god we were spared from this!! 

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 11:40pm

It's cute Nick didn't understand Spielberg's love for tall leading men (Tom Hanks, Leo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Daniel Day Lewis, David Alvarez, Ansel Elgort) in his films. They just look better on screen, imo. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 11:43pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "This isn't good, but it begs another question:

Nick Jonas has been on Broadway, had supporting roles in blockbuster movies, and is in a band that's had 4 out of 5 albums go platinum. Why is he sending out self-tapes?"

Because this is a Spielberg movie. A) you don't get to be the lead of a Spielberg purely on the basis of being a star, and B) A guy like Nick Jonas starring in a Spielberg would legitimize him as an actor to the public in a more substantial way.

[pmensky]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 11:49pm

KevinKlawitter said: "Alex Kulak2 said: "This isn't good, but it begs another question:

Nick Jonas has been on Broadway, had supporting roles in blockbuster movies, and is in a band that's had 4 out of 5 albums go platinum. Why is he sending out self-tapes?"

Because this is a Spielberg movie. A) you don't get to be the lead of a Spielberg purely on the basis of being a star, and B) A guy like Nick Jonas starring in a Spielberg would legitimize him as an actor to the public in a more substantial way."

Oh, comes on. surely Nick’s performance in Jumanji: The Next Level showed Spielberg everything he possibly needed to see.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/3/22 at 11:57pm

Sutton Ross said: "It's cute Nick didn't understand Spielberg's love for tall leading men (Tom Hanks, Leo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Daniel Day Lewis, David Alvarez, Ansel Elgort) in his films. They just look better on screen, imo."

In my experience, it's actually the opposite. Film/TV tend to prefer people with smaller features and just smaller in general. Tom Cruise for example Or Daniel Craig. 

But good to know Speilberg supports us tallies. 

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 12:09am

You would think that he could afford a tripod to help avoid that shaky video.

[Tag]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 12:12am

It's well known that Spielberg made Cruise wear stilts for War of the Worlds.

Updated On: 1/4/22 at 12:12 AM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 10:31am

His singing is good and would have been better by the time they rolled cameras. Give me him over Russell Crowe any day.

The problem with casting Jonas or any known entity is that it messes up the calibration in an ensemble cast when you're dealing with mostly newcomers. It could be distracting for the viewer, which Spielberg is keenly aware of. And the press coverage would have become "Nick Jonas is starring in one of the most iconic musicals ever, will he mess it up?!?!" which is, again, distracting. So they probably made the right choice going with Elgort if they needed any kind of proven entity as Tony.

Updated On: 1/4/22 at 10:31 AM

[herewegoabc]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 10:46am

I don't know how Nick would have done in WSS (I very much enjoyed Ansel). I'm not sure I've ever seen Nick do drama, but he is not a bad comedic actor at all. He was excellent in Scream Queens. I'm sure he could have managed this if cast, but I don't think he would have made that much of a difference in the box office. 

[Spikemark1]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 12:50pm

That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I still haven't recovered from his Marius. Hasn't anyone told him yet to keep his arms still?   But casting him would have been a mistake for many reasons.  

[Tag]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 12:58pm

I wonder what's happening with his filmed Jersey Boys?

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 1:07pm

Spikemark1 said: "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I still haven't recovered from his Marius. Hasn't anyone told him yet to keep his arms still? But casting him would have been a mistake for many reasons."

Ha, I don't think anyone ever recovered from that embarrassing performance. Every single other principal on that stage was superior in acting and singing skills by leaps and bounds. He brought down the entire thing when he opened his mouth and tried to "act". 

He would not have helped the box office by one penny. WSS was a fun project for SS, not something he was ever going to make money from. It was beautiful and we theater nerds loved it deeply. I think that's enough for him. 
 

Updated On: 1/4/22 at 01:07 PM

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 1:17pm

pmensky said: "Oh, comes on. surely Nick’s performance in Jumanji: The Next Level showed Spielberg everything he possibly needed to see."

You're joking but I actually thought he was slightly better in that one compared to the first one. Though he had less screen time and it was balanced out with Colin Hanks.

His vocals aren't embarrassing but they aren't impressive either. I don't know if any one actor would have saved this movie at the box office. 

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 1:41pm

why are pop stars turned actors always so dead in the eyes when they act?

 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 1:53pm

rattleNwoolypenguin said: "why are pop stars turned actors always so dead in the eyes when they act?

"

It's so funny because he actually can be quite animated facially, but his serious face looks so...constipated?

That said, he has great comic timing generally, and his singing voice is quite nice. 

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 2:41pm

To my ears, every note he sings is flat in pitch. This is not good singing. There’s also no acting happening through the singing. I wish someone could have coached him or coached him better.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 3:27pm

Liked his acting, liked his singing, liked his face.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 3:45pm

If you’ve seen self-tapes of even major Oscar winners, this awkward “acting” is typical.  And yes, even Oscar winners are asked to send self-tapes so no one is exempt. Even if you’re way-off, directors, producers, casting directors have an idea of what you can do.

Nick is flying by his seat here (no direction), so he’s not bad at all.  He’s definitely giving a stage interpretation on this self-tape and not a film interpretation.  

[babyjunegem]

Posted: 1/4/22 at 3:55pm

This audition has been floating online for a few years in some Internet forums. Unfortunately, I do not find Nick very charismatic. Never have. Too self-serious for his own good. Also, why didn't WME make sure these videos were kept confidential? I would cringe if I had a not so great audition tape floating around on the internet for mass consumption.