Not every audition in Hollywood ends with a dream role, and even global stars like Millie Bobby Brown know what it feels like to miss out. During a recent appearance on Entertainment Weekly‘s “Lie vs. Lie” video series alongside her Enola Holmes 3 co-star Louis Partridge, Brown reflected on an audition that stayed with her for years. The Millie Bobby Brown star revealed she screen-tested opposite Hugh Jackman for 2017’s Logan when she was just 11 or 12 years old, hoping to land the role that eventually went to Dafne Keen. Recalling how she felt after leaving the audition room, Brown didn’t sugarcoat the experience.
“Broken,” she admitted. “I felt like I probably didn’t get it, because I think there was someone else that was better.”
At first, Brown playfully described the audition as being for “one of the Wolverine movies,” seemingly trying to throw Partridge off during the game’s true-or-false format. However, she later confirmed it was indeed Logan, with Partridge correctly guessing that she would have been the right age to audition for the character of X-23. The role ultimately went to Dafne Keen, whose performance as Laura, also known as X-23, became one of the most celebrated parts of the film. Keen later reprised the fan-favourite character in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, cementing her place in Marvel history.
Although Brown missed out on joining the superhero franchise at the time, her career quickly took off in another direction. Just a year before Logan hit theatres, she had already introduced audiences to Eleven in Netflix’s blockbuster series Stranger Things. The role transformed her into one of Hollywood’s biggest young stars and earned her worldwide recognition across all five seasons.
Brown is currently back on screens with Enola Holmes 3, reuniting with Louis Partridge as the beloved young detective continues solving mysteries. Her story is also a reminder that rejection is part of almost every successful actor’s journey. Sometimes, missing one role simply opens the door to another that changes everything. Looking back now, Brown’s disappointment over Logan clearly didn’t define her career. If anything, it became just another chapter in a remarkable rise to stardom.