Already have an account?
Get back to the

Gwen Stefani Auditioned for Angelina Jolie’s ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’ Role

Gwen Stefani attends the 2015 American Music Awards.
Gwen Stefani attends the 2015 American Music Awards.John Shearer/Getty Images

Wait, what?! Gwen Stefani revealed in a new interview that she was originally in the running to play Angelina Jolie’s character in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, opposite Brad Pitt.

Related: PHOTOS: Gwen Stefani's Style Evolution

The “Make Me Like You” singer, 46, opened up about an array of subjects — from music to ex-husband Gavin Rossdale to current beau Blake Shelton — during an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday, July 20, but the most surprising tidbit she discussed was that she nearly landed the role of badass protagonist Jane Smith.

“I feel like I almost got it,” she told host Howard Stern. “I went to a bunch [of auditions].”

Stefani added, “[It was] very competitive and I wanted to do it, but I wanted to do music more.”

Related: PHOTOS: Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: How Their Love Has Evolved Since 2005

As fans know, the L.A.M.B. fashion designer ultimately didn’t land the coveted role, which was also reportedly sought out by Nicole Kidman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Chloë Sevigny. Instead, Jolie, now 41, was cast alongside her future husband, Pitt, now 52, who Gwen says was pals with her No Doubt bandmates.

“We knew Brad already,” Stefani told Stern, 62, on Wednesday morning.

Angelina Jolie in 2005's 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith'
Angelina Jolie in 2005’s ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ 20th Century Fox Film

The pop star previously discussed her audition during an April 2008 interview with Vogue magazine. “It was between me and Angelina Jolie, and I’m like, ‘Oh, great. I got a shot here,” she told the fashion publication at the time. “The whole acting thing really feels like something I could do. Whenever I’ve done it, whenever I had moments where it works, it’s just like performing. You hit a moment. And that’s what movies are: a series of moments.”

Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which was released in June 2005, follows the story of a bored married couple who are surprised to learn that they both work as assassins and have been hired to kill one another. The movie, which very famously brought Jolie and Pitt together, earned more than $478 million at the box office worldwide.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith'
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ 20th Century Fox/ScreenScenes

Related: PHOTOS: Angelina Jolie's Us Weekly Covers

“It took until, really, the end of the shoot for us, I think, to realize that it might mean something more than we’d earlier allowed ourselves to believe,” the Tomb Raider actress told Vogue of her relationship with Pitt (who was still married to Jennifer Aniston while filming Smith) in January 2007. “And both knowing that the reality of that was a big thing, something that was going to take a lot of serious consideration.”

In this article

Got a Tip form close button
Got a tip for US?
We're All Ears for Celebrity Buzz!