Glenn Close, the actor with the most Academy Award nominations (eight) without a win, has revealed she was turned down for a role in the 1984 spy film The Little Drummer Girl because she wasn't considered famous enough. Despite lobbying director George Roy Hill, with whom she had worked on The World According to Garp, Close lost out to Diane Keaton, as Warner Bros favoured a more established name for the high-profile John le Carré adaptation. The episode illustrates how even critically acclaimed actors, including those with recent Oscar nominations, can be blocked from roles by studio politics rather than talent.

Close had already earned Best Supporting Actress nominations for The World According to Garp (1982) and The Big Chill (1983) when she was passed over, and she has said she "knocked their socks off" in readings but lacked sufficient star power. The Little Drummer Girl ultimately flopped, while Close went on to receive another nomination that same year for The Natural. The novel was later successfully adapted as an AMC television series in 2018, directed by Park Chan-wook and starring Florence Pugh in the part Close had wanted.