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Jennifer Connelly Auditions for Jim Henson’s LABYRINTH

Recently it hit me: Labyrinth is my favorite movie of all time. That may sound silly to some of you but I’m of the believe that “favorite” and “best” aren’t necessarily the same things, although I do believe Labyrinth to be a pretty great movie…

Jim Henson’s fairy tale spectacular is a movie I grew up with and to this day I still love the creatures, the story and the music. I recently stumbled onto the tape of a young Jennifer Connelly auditioning for the role of Sarah, one that she eventually won, on The Jim Henson Company’s YouTube channel. At almost four and a half minutes, the audition tape provides insight into a few interesting things for us mega fans.

First, the scene in question is when Sarah first meets Hoggle and it would appear that there was much more scripted in the scene in earlier drafts, including Hoggle playing additional tricks on Sarah and Sarah asking him if he’s to be her “guide,” a conversation or theme that never made it into the movie. Additionally, it’s kind of astounding how at just about fifteen years old Connelly’s audition performance shares a lot in common with what ended up in the final version of the film. It is pretty clear that Henson saw exactly what he was looking for in her. Finally, there is a sweet exchange with Connelly and Henson after she finishes her scene. They have a nice conversation about Sarah and the creatures in the labyrinth. For fans, it’s some nice insight into what became a fantasy classic.

Watch the clip below and have a listen to Brian Henson on the Nerdist Podcast right here!

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Comments

  1. Who can forget Cheryl Gates McFadden as choreographer (and ersatz puppet director) for this one, either?

  2. xy says:

    I approve, this has been my favorite movie since forever.  I remember my mom renting the VHS for me over and over until the video store finally just let us have it.  Pretty sweet.

  3. Barbartimus says:

    Hear, hear! Love that distinction as well. My favorite is most definitely far from the best.

  4. Well clearly he liked her cause she got the part and she did wonderfully,greatest movie of all time,she’s a wonderful actress!

  5. twitter_SweetGeekling says:

    I love the distinction between “favorite” and “best.” Stellar point.