Jane Lynch, 60, reveals she lost the role in A League Of Their Own that went to Rosie O’Donnell, 58: ‘It was heartbreaking’
Jane Lynch has revealed she was heartbroken over losing a movie role.
The 60-year-old actress made a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen where she discussed her experiences auditioning for various projects in the Nineties.
During the program, the Glee star mentioned that she had previously auditioned for a role in the 1992 sports comedy-drama A League Of Their Own.
Struck out: Jane Lynch discussed losing a role in the 1992 baseball film A League Of Their Own; seen here at the Billboard Music Awards in October
The role of Doris Murphy eventually went to Rosie O’Donnell.
Lynch stated that in preparation for the audition, ‘I had to play baseball and the whole thing. I didn’t get it. It was heartbreaking.’
The film was released to positive critical reception and spawned a short-lived television show that debuted in 1993; a reboot of the series was recently ordered by Amazon Video.
During the Q&A session, Lynch also put the longstanding rumor that she was considered for the part of Phoebe on the smash sitcom Friends to bed; that role was filled by Lisa Kudrow.
Hitting a home run: Rosie O’Donnell played the role of Doris Murphy in the sports comedy-drama
‘I never auditioned for Phoebe. I’ve seen that before but that never happened.’
Lynch’s career began after spending a few years with The Second City improvisational comedy troupe, after which she picked up several small film and TV roles in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.
She began to take on higher-profile roles in the mid-1990’s with castings on shows such as 3rd Rock From The Sun, The X-Files, and Frasier, among various others.
At the same time, the actress was seen in many more film roles and was featured in movies such as Fatal Instinct and Best In Show.
Calling for success: The film was received positively by critics and made $132.4 million at the box office
Lynch continued filling roles on the big and small screens until she became one of the breakout stars of the Fox musical comedy series Glee.
The Arrested Development actress portrayed acerbic cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, who served as the show’s primary antagonist.
The role garnered Lynch various critical accolades, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Television film, among others.
Filling the parts: The film also starred Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Anne Ramsay