Grant Gustin 'did not want to go' to 'The Flash' audition

Grant Gustin did not want to audition for The Flash, because he was convinced he was wrong for the part. 

The actor looked back on it at a recent New York Comic Con panel, remembering that he got the appointment back when auditions were still held in person. 

“I got an audition for it, and I did not want to go,” he said. “I was very, um, insecure about being wrong for it.” 

He added: “I’ve talked about this a lot, but I thought I was wrong. I don’t think on paper that I was right for the role, but somehow it worked out.”

Gustin said one moment “shifted” how he saw the part and made him want to stay in the process. 

The audition itself went well, and then executive producer David Nutter was at his callback. Nutter is considered to be “the pilot king”, Gustin explained, because most of the pilots he directs get picked up.

Gustin, who was 23 at the time, has spoken about those doubts before.

He told Men’s Health that he thought he had no chance and didn’t even want to go. 

“He’s big and buff and blonde in the comics,” he said of Barry Allen, adding that he had imposter syndrome about even showing up. 

He first played the character in the second season of Arrow, in 2013, before The Flash followed. 

He went on to play Barry Allen in more than 180 episodes across nine seasons on The CW, which ran from 2014 to 2023.

He has said he signed a six-year contract and assumed the show would last exactly that long. He has also said he still has imposter syndrome about it.