Linda Cardellini "cried" over making "the biggest fool of [herself]" in the audition for Scooby-Doo.
The actress rocked up dressed as Velma Dinkley in a bid to get cast in the 2002 live-action film, but she stuck out like a sore thumb as other "famous people" testing for the character were in "normal people clothes".
Appearing on Wednesday's (18.03.26's) episode of NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Linda, 50, recalled: "I remember when I was auditioning for Scooby-Doo - I was really excited because that was my favourite cartoon growing up - so I was going in for Velma, and I was like, 'I'm not going to go in there without my glasses and my turtleneck.'"
The star snapped up a "bargain" orange turtleneck at Ross Dress For Less and borrowed her pal's glasses because she thought dressing up as the character actors auditioned for was good practice.
Linda added: "I dressed in a costume, and I was kind of new when I got that part. It was after Freaks and Geeks, but Freaks and Geeks wasn't like a big success or anything, so I was pretty new, and I just figured you were supposed to dress the part.
"And so I went in there, and I saw all these famous people sitting in the waiting room."
Jimmy, 51, asked Linda if they had also dressed as Velma, to which she exclaimed: "No! They were in normal people clothes! They looked great, and I looked like an idiot! And I went in there dressed up in this costume, and just felt so stupid."
She continued: "And then I did my audition, and I did all these crazy things like take off my glasses, and I just felt like I had made the biggest fool of myself.
"And I came home, and I cried, and cried, and cried."
However, the enthusiasm paid off as Linda landed the role of Velma in the film and its 2004 sequel, Monsters Unleashed - which also starred Sarah Michelle Gellar (Daphne Blake), Freddie Prinze Jr. (Fred Jones), Matthew Lillard (Shaggy Rogers), and Neil Fanning (Scooby-Doo).
Linda quipped: "My dad always says he knew I would get a part if I came home crying. So I guess you have to make a fool of yourself."
