Many would say that the casting in The Power of the Dog is perfect, given that the film was widely acclaimed with all of its leads garnering Academy Award nominations for their work. Be that as it may, things could have been different if Elisabeth Moss had starred in the film as was the plan at one point before The Handmaid’s Tale star regrettably dropped out. Her role later went to Kirsten Dunst who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars in March.
Moss spoke about what happened with The Power of the Dog in a new interview with Empire. For her part, Moss was excited to work with director Jane Campion again after the two had previously collaborated on Top of the Lake. The two had actually spoken about The Power of the Dog for years, but when it came time to shoot the film, the timing just wasn’t quite right for Moss. It led to Moss backing out of the project, and she now sees it as the role that got away,
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Sometimes these things work out for the best, as Moss was happy to see the work Dunst had put in for the role. This was fantastic for Moss, who feels she may have had a harder time seeing the role recast if it was with someone else she didn’t admire as much. She’s happy with the end result of The Power of the Dog, but one way Moss hopes to see this all made right is by getting the chance to work with Campion again one day in the future.
Elisabeth Moss Also Dropped Out of Hulu’s Candy
These things happen with actors and planned roles, for better or for worse. Elisabeth Moss similarly had to drop out of the Hulu series Candy, based on real-life ax murderer Candy Montgomery, back in September. Jessica Biel was then brought in to play the killer, who’s also set to be portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen in the separate HBO Max series Love and Death.
The Power of the Dog is streaming on Netflix. Moss can be seen in the upcoming series Shining Girls when it premieres on Apple TV+ on April 29, 2022.
