I had no idea that movie productions had understudies just like plays, people they keep on hold hoping for a part even after a cast is technically signed on. I also have no idea if that's really the case for Jason Flemyng, as he awaits his chance to be part of Andrew Stanton's John Carter of Mars, but that's certainly how he made it sound talking to Moviehole recently.
The quote is pretty confusing.
“I'm gonna do.. um.. well, there's a movie coming out.. I'm not definitely on it, but I'm desperate to get on it, but it all depends on who.. It's already cast, but the people who have been cast haven't been signed, so a couple of them hopefully will pull out or fall out or whatever. They're doing John Carter From Mars, which you probably know more about than me”.
So if someone breaks their ankle on the set, Flemyng will be there to fill in? And in the meantime he's just going to casually mention to the press that he might be in the movie? Sounds bizarre to me. You might recognize Flemyng from Stardust and Transporter 2, among many other roles. I'm sure he's a plenty talented actor, but I really can't figure out what he hopes his role in the movie will be. If he officially joins the cast at some point I guess we'll know what's up, but right now it sounds like he's just sitting by the phone, waiting for Andrew Stanton to pull him up to the big leagues.
