That's right, the one and only Michael Cera actually auditioned for the role of Cole Sear in "The Sixth Sense." And while we're all a bit bummed we didn't get to see Cera tell Bruce Willis about seeing dead people, we can also admit that's probably for the best as, well, who can imagine the actor delivering the fateful line with as much open-wounded sincerity as Osment?
In a 2009 interview with Esquire, even Cera all but admitted he couldn't have, hilariously telling the publication he'd wholly misread the tone of the project during his audition. "I auditioned for 'The Sixth Sense,' which I didn't know was about seeing dead people," he said. "They didn't mention that in the breakdown. After seeing the movie, and remembering the scene they had me read ... It was the scene with the penny. Bruce Willis is saying, 'I can't be your doctor anymore,' and Haley Joel Osment starts crying and slides the penny over to him. It's a very emotional scene. And I did not do it that way. I did it upbeat. I said 'Some magic's real' very optimistically."
Seems the "The Sixth Sense" casting crew should probably be faulted for not cluing Cera in on the high drama of the scene he was reading, even if they should also be commended for casting Haley Joel Osment instead. As for Cera, don't feel too bad for him as things worked out pretty well for that kid, too.
