
I saw a real sadness in her eyes as well.

She was beautiful and sensual, but also very innocent. I looked in her eyes and saw so many things. I know it! Everything about her embodied Christine before she even sang a note. I grabbed Joel and said, that's Christine!. I was skulking about in the back, actually, until Emmy came up on the monitor. I was very curious, but at the same time I had just gotten the job myself. Joel asked me to come along to the screen test. Gerard Butler comments on how fantastic she was and how he came to be "lurking" about. Joel said he told me something and I was shaking.Įmmy was just sixteen when she auditioned. (Laughs) He was lurking, smoking a cigarette behind this video village. I remember he was lurking in the corner, very phantom-like. But I met a lot of people, one of whom was Gerry Butler. There were fifty people on set, people touching up my face, people holding booms, giant swooping crane shots, Joel Schumacher screaming action. There were two hours of hair and make-up and this incredible costume. I flew to New York, walked into the audition and it was on a set. He'd been casting for six months while I had been working on "The Day After Tomorrow" in Montreal. I walked in and he asked me to screen test in New York on Saturday. I wanted her to be a real as if it were a film that wasn't a musical. He was very happy when I told him I hadn't seen the show, I was uncolored by the theatrical interpretation of the character. It was something that Andrew Lloyd Weber very much wanted. A highly skilled singer, the thought of landing Christine was a dream she never thought possible.Įmmy Rossum: It was very surreal. She sang at The Met in New York when she was only seven. Emmy Rossum had been a learned singer from childhood. That stature will change as audiences see them bring the most beloved characters in musical theatre history to life.Īuditioning for Christine was a real test of nerves and confidence. Emmy Rossum and Gerard Butler have had moderate success in Hollywood, but are by no means famous actors. He chose a then sixteen year old Emmy Rossum for the part of the heroine Christine and rugged Scotsman Gerard Butler as the maniacal Phantom of the Opera.

After six months of searching, director Joel Schumacher settled on two relative unknowns.
#Who played christine in phantom of the opera movie movie#
The lead roles for the movie were coveted by actors around the world. The musical is the most popular and successful Broadway show of all time. On December 22nd, Warner Brothers will release the long awaited film version of Andrew Lloyd Weber's The Phantom of the Opera. Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum in The Phantom of the Opera! Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum talk about the film!
