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There's an interesting Hollywood casting lesson hiding between the lines of this AP story about the actresses playing the wives of HBO's polygamist drama Big Love:

"I got the call about the show when I was in my car," says [Chloe] Sevigny... "I went and picked up the script at the agency and read it in the parking lot. I had the meeting the same day and we pretty much signed the deal."

"I had months of auditioning," recalls Ginnifer Goodwin...who was vying for the role of the excitable, childish third wife, Margene. "They gave me a love scene to do as my screen test. I went into a conference room with, like, 25 execs and a camcorder, and Bill and I were seated in two armchairs.

"I thought, 'How on Earth am I gonna do a love scene? I'm going to have to sit with him!' So I crawled over, and I kinda feel like we made out. [...]

"I was pulling out of the driveway on the phone with my agent, saying, 'I blew it. I made out with a stranger, and I think I must have upset him.' "

Then another call came in: "Welcome to 'Big Love'!"

Aspiring young actresses, take note: As these anecdotes demonstrate, there is immeasurable value in seeking out roles that allow you to engage in on-screen, non-simulated sex acts. Goodwin's unproven track record in that area led to endless rounds of frustrating call-backs; only after she initiated some hot action at her screen test did she get the job. Sevigny, on the other hand, was hired instantly. This is undoubtedly attributable to her first-rate fellative work in Vincent Gallo's Brown Bunny, a crucial addition to her reel that proved to Big Love's producers she was more than capable of tackling any unconventional sexual scenario they may throw her way.