“I cried, and cried, and cried”: Linda Cardellini on the audition that changed her career
Linda Cardellini says she cried after an audition for the live-action Scooby-Doo films, where she arrived dressed as Velma while other hopefuls wore ordinary clothes. Though she felt foolish, her commitment helped demonstrate that she understood the character’s deliberately camp style and ultimately helped secure the role.
Cardellini was relatively new to acting after Freaks and Geeks and was surprised to find famous performers waiting to audition. She recalled removing her glasses and making bold choices, then going home convinced she had embarrassed herself. The two early-2000s films were poorly received by critics but later gained a cult following, and her Velma is still widely regarded as a defining portrayal.
In short
- Cardellini dressed as Velma for her Scooby-Doo audition.
- She went home and cried, thinking she had made a fool of herself.
- Her commitment helped shape a performance that endured.
Explained simply
Scooby-Doo began as an animated television series about a group of young detectives and their dog, who investigate supposedly supernatural mysteries. Velma Dinkley is the group’s brainy, bespectacled investigator; the live-action films brought the cartoon characters to the screen with human actors.
Linda Cardellini, an American actor, had recently appeared in the television series Freaks and Geeks when she auditioned for Velma. The films, released in the early 2000s, received mixed reviews from critics but later found a lasting audience, helping make their cast’s portrayals familiar to generations of viewers.