Julianne Moore reveals she was FIRED from THIS Oscar-nominated movie: ‘It’s still painful’

The actress appeared on Watch What Happens Live where she was asked about her departure from Can You Ever Forgive Me?. The movie picked up strong acclaim and a slew of nominations, including Oscars nods for Richard E Grant and Moore’s replacement, Melissa McCarthy. It had been well documented that Moore was initially signed up to play Lee Israel, but now she has revealed that she was in fact removed.

It was Nicole Holofcener who was directing the movie at that point, although Marielle Heller ultimately took the reigns using Holofcener’s script.

“I didn’t leave that movie, I was fired,” Moore said.

“Nicole fired me. That’s the truth. I think she didn’t like what I was doing.

“We hadn’t [filmed], we were just rehearsing and doing pre-production and stuff, and I think her idea of where the character was, was different to where my idea of the character was.

“So she fired me!”

Moore added: “I haven’t [seen it] yet because it’s still kind of painful.

“I love Melissa McCarthy, I worship her, I think she’s great.

“The only other time [I was fired] was when I was working at a yoghurt stand when I was 15. So it felt bad!”

Can You Ever Forgive Me? was also reported to have initially cast Sam Rockwell as Jack Hock, although he too ultimately stepped down.

The film has a mighty 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus reading: “Deftly directed and laced with dark wit, Can You Ever Forgive Me? proves a compelling showcase for deeply affecting work from Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy.”

Moore has plenty on herself: she’ll soon be seen in The Woman In The Window and The Glorias: A Life On The Road.

She’s also in After The Wedding alongside Michelle Williams, which had its first outing at Sundance back in January.

The star won her own Oscar for Still Alice in 2015.