Why Was Elisabeth Moss Replaced In 'The Power Of The Dog'?
Elisabeth Moss is four months shy of her 40th birthday, but she would likely have no regrets about what her award catalog looks like today. The Mad Men star can already boast of winning two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, two SAG Awards and even a Tony Award for the play The Heidi Chronicles.
Despite this extensive list of accolades, one is bound to wonder what Moss must have been thinking as she watched this year's Academy Awards ceremony. An Oscar is notably absent from her trophy cabinet, and as it turns out, circumstances might have conspired against her to once again miss out on a nomination.
Moss is an interesting character on and off-screen, with her talent and personality landing her roles in major shows such as The West Wing and The Handmaid's Tale, as well as movies like The Invisible Man and Jordan Peele's Us.
In 2019, she was announced as part of the cast of director Jane Campion's then upcoming Western drama film, The Power of the Dog. The picture would eventually earn 12 Oscar nominations. Due to scheduling conflicts, however, Moss was not part of the production at all.
Why Couldn't Elisabeth Moss Fulfill Her Role In 'The Power Of The Dog'?
Filming for The Power of the Dog started in January 2020, and concluded about seven months later. In between, production was momentarily halted due to the widespread effects of the COVID pandemic. Like other major pictures, however, filming resumed and was wrapped up before the end of July.
The story world of The Power of the Dog is set in the US State of Montana, but it was considered too expensive to shoot the film there. As a result, director Jane Campion opted to move production mostly to the Otago region in her home nation of New Zealand.
Campion had been working on the concept for The Power of the Dog since early 2017. In April that year, Elisabeth Moss was introduced to the world as the character June Osborne/Offred in Hulu's dystopian drama series, The Handmaid's Tale.
By the time Campion's film was going into production in 2020, The Handmaid's Tale had aired three seasons and been confirmed to return for a fourth.
This fourth season was expected to start production in March 2020, which unfortunately coincided directly with the filming schedule for The Power of the Dog.
Who Replaced Elisabeth Moss In 'The Power Of The Dog'?
As a consequence of this scheduling conflict, Moss was forced to give up her part in the film, and the studios went about the process of finding a replacement. In October 2019, it was announced that Fargo and Spider-Man star Kirsten Dunst would be replacing Moss in the movie.
At the time, Dunst was just coming off the back of a very successful first season of the dark comedy series On Becoming a God in Central Florida on Showtime. As well as the show itself, the actress received rave reviews for her performance as the character Krystal Stubbs, for which she had received a Golden Globe nomination.
Created by Robert Funke and Matt Lunsky, On Becoming a God in Central Florida had originally been renewed for a second season on the premium network. However, as a result of interruptions caused by the pandemic, Showtime eventually announced that the show was canceled altogether.
What Character Would Elisabeth Moss Have Played In 'The Power Of The Dog'?
About a month after Dunst was officially confirmed as part of the cast of The Power of the Dog, her fiancé Jesse Plemons was also brought on board for the production. The Breaking Bad actor was also a replacement casting choice, after Paul Dano could not fulfill his role in the Jane Campion movie.
The two real-life partners would reprise their love story on the screen, as they played two characters who ended up getting married. Plemons portrayed a rancher known as George Burbank, with Dunst playing a widowed inn proprietress called Rose.
For her exemplary performance in the role, Dunst was recognized with both a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
While it is impossible to say how Moss would have fared in the shoes of Rose in The Power of the Dog, she might feel like this was another missed opportunity to land her very own Oscar Award. She had been strongly backed to be in the running for one following her star turn in The Invisible Man (2020), but even that unfortunately came to naught.
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