Baz Luhrmann Reveals Who Almost Starred in 'Moulin Rouge' Instead of Ewan McGregor

Click to the next slide to see the other actor who almost played Christian…

Heath Ledger

Baz told news.com.au that Heath Ledger gave a “beautiful” audition.

“A young Heath Ledger was up for the role and I thought maybe the character could be very young,” he said. “And it turned out they did really work together. And it was quite beautiful.”

Ultimately, Heath was too young to star opposite Nicole, so the role went to Ewan McGregor.

On seeing Ewan and Nicole together for the first time, Baz said, “The real moment was when they met in Sydney and we did the first day of rehearsals. They were walking around, going into the elephant, and they were hysterical and wonderfully matched. They were great. He was just the perfect partner for Nicole.”

Click to the next slide to see the other actor who almost played Christian…