Priyanka Chopra almost made her Hollywood debut with Divergent, reveals Neil Burger: 'She auditioned, but...'
Neil Burger's latest film, Inheritance, was partially filmed in India. The filmmaker, known for edgy thrillers like Limitless, was in India in 2022 with his star Phoebe Dynevor for the 'guerrilla-style' shoot. Even as it was shot in India, the film didn't feature many Indian actors, and certainly no known names. But in an interaction with HT ahead of the film's India release, the director revealed that he had come close to working with an Indian star.
When asked if he would like to work with Indian actors in the future, having filmed in the country, Neil said, "It's funny but I was just looking at the poster of Divergent here (in the Lionsgate office in Mumbai where we met him), and Priyanka Chopra auditioned for it." Divergent, a 2014 thriller based on the book series by Veronica Roth, starred Shailene Woodley. But Neil revealed that Priyanka was also in the running for the role at a time. "That was the time when she had just moved to the US and was trying out for something in Hollywood. So she came in and auditioned for the lead role, but that did not work out, for a number of reasons," he said.
When pressed on elaborating, the filmmaker said, "I'd rather not get into that, but yes, she auditioned and impressed everyone. Pity, it didn't work out. But, in the future if things fall into place, I would love to work with her or any of the so many talented Indian actors."
Priyanka Chopra eventually made her international debut with the series Quantico in 2015. She went on to appear in supporting roles in Baywatch, The White Tiger, and The Matrix Resurrections, before starring in the Prime Video series Citadel alongside Richard Madden. Priyanka will next star in Heads of State, an action film that also stars Idris Elba and John Cena.
Inheritance, Neil's latest work, also stars Rhys Ifans, Ciara Baxendale, and Kersti Bryan. The film was released in the US in January this year and made its way to the Indian audiences on May 23 to largely positive reviews. It is streaming on Lionsgate Play.
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