Eddie Redmayne reveals he auditioned to play Kylo Ren in Star Wars

Instead of joining J.K. Rowling’s wizarding world, Eddie Redmayne almost took a trip to a galaxy far, far away.

Two years ago, the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them star revealed he had auditioned for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, saying he had a “catastrophically bad” audition for a villainous role. Now, Redmayne has opened up about that audition in an interview with Uproxx.

Instead of auditioning to play Hux, the part that went to Domhnall Gleeson, Redmayne revealed he went out for Adam Driver’s sinister role of Kylo Ren.

“They gave me like a Star Trek scene — or like something from Pride and Prejudice,” Redmayne recalled. “It was one of those films. With films that top secret, they don’t give you the actual lines. So they give you a scene from Pride and Prejudice, but then they tell you you’re auditioning for the baddie. If you’re me, you then put some ridiculous voice on.”

Redmayne added that no matter what he tried, nothing seemed to work.

“That was a really hilarious moment,” he continued. “Because it was Nina Gold, who I have to thank a lot because she’s cast me in several films. And she was just sitting there and I was trying again and again with different versions of my kind of ‘koohh paaaah’ [Darth Vader breathing sound] voice. And after like 10 shots she’s like, ‘You got anything else?’ I was like, ‘No.’”

This isn’t the first embarrassing audition story Redmayne has told: Last year, he recalled how he auditioned for Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit franchise and — surprise! didn’t get it. Still, he did manage to eventually land a role in a beloved franchise, and he’ll make his debut as Newt Scamander when Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits theaters on Nov. 18.