"I Swung for the Fences,” – Skyler Gisondo Reveals the Lie He Told Paul Thomas Anderson to Get a Role on 'Licorice Pizza'

Published 09/25/2026, 12:58 AM EDT

via Imago

Skyler Gisondo seems to have finally come clean about his one lie. There are several stories of actors who have lied during auditions to land a role and somehow managed to get away with it after successfully securing the part. Gisondo took a similar approach to secure a role in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza, as he claimed to be an expert at a skill he had never even tried.

Although the actor made an impressive effort to turn his lie into truth and handled his role well, the director might still be in the dark about the whole story.

Skyler Gisondo’s bold lie to land in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza

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Skyler Gisondo recently joined Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he spoke about his audition for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza. While the audition went well, the situation became complicated when Anderson later called him over FaceTime and asked if he could play the piano. At the time, Anderson was offering him the role, and Gisondo lied, claiming that he was quite skilled at playing a piano.

"It would have been a lie to be like, 'yeah, I play a little bit.' But I swung for the fences. Yeah, dude. I said, 'I've been playing my whole life,'" he said. 

February 13, 2017 - Westwood, CA, United States - 13 February 2017 - Westwood, California - Skyler Gisondo . Fist Fight Los Angeles premiere held at Regency Village Theatre. Photo Credit: AdMedia Westwood United States - ZUMAa123 20170213_zaa_a123_165

And his lie came back to bite him even harder when Anderson revealed that he would have to play Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer.” However, Gisondo had 10 weeks before filming began, so he decided to turn his lie into the truth. The actor shared that he started learning the piano and practiced the song for as many as five hours a day. The actor shared during the podcast that he often considered giving up and admitting the truth to Anderson, but eventually gained enough confidence to believe that he could actually play the song. 

"I played legitimately probably like 5 hours a day every day. The whole time thinking like waking up in cold sweats like I'm not. Today's the day I call him and come clean and like tell him I can't," he recalled. 

And it seems all those hours of practice paid off, as Gisondo was able to perform the song for the scene. However, it turns out that the actor has yet to tell Anderson the truth about the incident. He shared the story with the director’s wife, who encouraged him to come clean. But as it turns out, Anderson might still be in the dark about the whole incident.

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Now, Gisondo spent countless hours practicing for the scene, only for things to take an unexpected turn.

What happened to Skyler Gisondo’s Piano scene?

Skyler Gisondo had put his heart and soul into preparing for the piano scene. As he shared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the actor eventually managed to play the song for the scene. However, he later revealed that during a call with Anderson, he learned that the piano scene had been removed from the final cut. 

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June 5, 2026, Paris, France, France: Skyler Gisondo during the Roland-Garros 2026, French Open 2026, Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland-Garros Stadium on June 05, 2026 in Paris, France. Paris France - ZUMAm308 20260605_zsp_m308_032 Copyright: xMatthieuxMirvillex

So, after spending countless hours practicing for a single scene, Primetime actor Gisondo’s hard work ultimately did not make it onto the screen. But in the end, he had the role in the movie. As for whether he would have gotten the part had he told Paul Thomas Anderson the truth about his piano skills, that is something only the director can reveal.

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What do you think about Skyler Gisondo's lie? Let us know in the comments.

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Pritha Debroy

1265 articles

Pritha Debroy is an Entertainment writer at NetflixJunkie who can seamlessly switch between breaking down an NBA play and obsessing over the latest K-drama twist. She has written over 3,400 NBA and NFL articles, but her true joy lies in diving into Netflix’s trendiest shows—unpacking themes, stories, and yes, the occasional celebrity chaos. When she is not writing, you’ll find her devouring thrillers (anything by Freida McFadden is an instant yes), revisiting comfort classics like 10 Things I Hate About You and 27 Dresses, or hunting for her next binge-worthy series.

Edited By: Aliza Siddiqui

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