Appearing Thursday (April 7) on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Gwen Stefani recalled auditioning for the part of Jane Smith in 2005’s hit film, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Angelina Jolie went on to play the role in the film, in which she starred alongside Brad Pitt; the co-stars later got married (and then divorced).
“Angelina beat me,” the singer quipped as the audience gasped. Though she didn’t disclose any specifics about the audition, she added, “That could’ve been a different story.”
Watch Gwen Stefani answer Ellen’s “Burning Questions” below:
This isn’t the first time Stefani spoke about missing out on the role. In a 2008 Vogue interview, she told the publication, “It was between me and Angelina Jolie, and I’m like, ‘Oh, great. I got a shot here.’ The whole acting thing really feels like something I could do. Whenever I’ve done it, whenever I had moments where it works, it’s just like performing. You hit a moment. And that’s what movies are: a series of moments.”
While the “Just A Girl” singer missed out on the part of Jane Smith, she did score a 2005 Screen Actors Guild Award nomination as part of the ensemble cast of Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.