Before she was writing and acting in films like “Frances Ha” and “Mistress America,” Greta Gerwig was attempting to secure roles in other projects — including the CW’s famed teen series “Gossip Girl.” Much to Gerwig’s disappointment, however, the audition didn’t go as well as she’d planned, the actress revealed in a HuffPost Live interview on Tuesday.

“They were like, ‘Why did you wear overalls to this audition?'” she recalled of the show’s casting staff. “I’d be like, ‘They said she was from a farm,’ and they were like, ‘But this is ‘Gossip Girl!'”

The experience taught Gerwig that she was somewhat out of the Hollywood norm, a hard thing for the 32-year-old to grapple with at the time.

“There were moments like that, where I realized I didn’t fit the thing that they wanted, but I always wanted to be part of them,” she said. “I wish they had wanted me, but they didn’t.”

But there was a silver-lining for the actress, who’s now made a career out of writing interesting female roles for herself. By not conforming to what these shows were looking for, Gerwig could embrace who she naturally was.

“I think if I had been more successful at changing myself, then I wouldn’t have [become authentic]. But luckily, I just failed at it,” she recounted. “I had no choice but to be authentic because people were like, ‘Even when you blow out your hair and do a whole thing, we still don’t believe you.’ I was like, ‘Great! Then I guess I’ll just be who I am.'”

Watch more from Greta Gerwig’s conversation with HuffPost Live here.

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