History Main / LastIntervieweeWins

SisterTrope to HopelessAuditionees and TerribleIntervieweesMontage. Compare HiredOnTheSpot and LastGirlWins.

SisterTrope to the TerribleIntervieweesMontage. Compare HiredOnTheSpot and LastGirlWins.

* By his account, Creator/CharlesMartinet was the last person to show up for the auditions for voicing Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], and the casting crew were packing up their things by the time he arrived. He then improvised a voice for Mario until the recording tape ran out, and has thus voiced Mario and much of his supporting cast from 1995 until 2023.

** In "Skunkator vs. Mothman", Chris alongside Kenan and Kel try find a new employee to work at Rigby's and the last one they see is Sharla Morrison, who gets the job and becomes a reoccurring character.

* ''War of the Wizards'': In the 1978 Taiwanese movie, a newly rich man interviews a series of people to be his bodyguard. As each candidate comes in they kill the prior one. The Cinema Snob is quick to point out that you want to be the last in line in such a situation.

[[folder:Films - Live-Action]]

* ''ComicBook/WestCoastAvengers2018'': Following a string of subpar wannabe superheroes auditioning to be on the team, [[Characters/MarvelComicsKateBishop Kate Bishop]] immediately signs up the last candidate, [[ComicBook/TheUnbelievableGwenpool Gwenpool]]... who didn't even realize this was an audition and just came by the WCA HQ to ask Kate if she wanted to go get some tacos.

Let's face it, it isn't easy to find help, and it's inevitable that you'll go through a whole score of awful interviews before you find the one, if you're lucky. But in most instances, it's almost always the last person you speak with who'll do. Ironically, the last interviewee often shows up late, which would make them look unprofessional and less qualified in a real life job interview.

Sometimes, it's because there's nobody else left and the interviewer is desperate enough.

* In ''Fanfic/TheApprenticeTheStudentAndTheCharlatan'', Night Apprentice Nova Shine is made to interview potential candidates for his counterpart, the Faithful Student. He goes through several, but none of them are ones he would recommend to Princess Celestia to take on as her student. The final candidate to interview (and historically the first Faithful Student, which Nova already knew) was Clover the Clever, and she was the single pony who made it through every question demonstrating a clear desire to learn.

* ''ComicBook/WestCoastAvengers2018'': Following a string of subpar wannabe superheroes auditioning to be on the team, ComicBook/KateBishop immediately signs up the last candidate, ComicBook/{{Gwenpool}}... who didn't even realize this was an audition and just came by the WCA HQ to ask Kate if she wanted to go get some tacos.

* In ''Film/{{Audition}}'', after a TerribleIntervieweesMontage, Asami is the last candidate shown onscreen being interviewed by Aoyama and Yoshikawa, and ends up being the candidate that Aoyama pursues romantically.

* In ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'', when his ex-wife is looking for a babysitter for their kids, Daniel Hillard uses his voice acting skills to fake a number of terrible phone interviews before doing the last one as the titular Mrs. Doubtfire and getting the job.
* In ''Film/MysteryMen'', after the titular heroes sit through some terrible interviews with some fellow wannabe superheroes, they're giving up on seeking help when the Bowler shows up, and after initially being turned down, she uses her super-powered bowling ball against them to prove her worth.
* In ''Film/TheProducers'', Max, Leo, and director Roger [=DeBris=] are auditioning performers for the lead role in ''Springtime For Hitler''. Roger rejects each and every one, but as they are wrapping up, dimwitted hippie Lorenzo St. [=DuBois=] arrives. He came to the wrong audition, he performs a ridiculous song about love and flowers, he seems generally out of it half the time...in other words, he's perfect for Max's scheme to make the worst play on Broadway.

* In ''Film/TheUntouchables'', Eliot Ness and Jimmy Malone go to the Chicago Police Academy seeking a trainee to serve them (since they aren't already bribed by Al Capone's empire). They ask to speak to the top two shooters in the class, Wallace and Stone, who are interviewed one at a time. Wallace is the top shooter, however, he stutters so much that he can't even give a straight answer. Stone, on the other hand, shows that he can stand up for himself after Malone uses an anti-Italian slur against him, and he's picked as an Untouchable.
* In the 1978 Taiwanese movie ''War of the Wizards'' a newly rich man interviews a series of people to be his bodyguard. As each candidate comes in they kill the prior one. The Cinema Snob is quick to point out that you want to be the last in line in such a situation.

* Subverted in ''Series/Girls5eva''. After Wickie tries to go solo again at the end of the season, the remaining three members hold auditions to find a replacement. After a series of HollywoodToneDeaf HopelessAuditionees, the last girl they audition seems like a perfect fit, and they offer her the job on the spot. But immediately after, she gets an email saying she was accepted into nursing school and backs out, to their dismay.

* DoubleSubverted in ''Podcast/AcquisitionsIncorporated'': After Aeofel quits, the company's core members hold tryouts for the next intern by putting interviewees through a DeathCourse to see who survives. The final applicant, [[Creator/KrisStraub K'thriss Drow'b]], is also the first one to survive the course -- but just as he is about to be hired, he is [[BackStab shanked in the back and killed]] by [[Creator/PatrickRothfuss Viari]]. Viari then proceeds to run the course uninvited, finishing it in a fraction of K'thriss' time, but the core members still lean towards turning him down, anyway, because he showed up late. They relent, however, after he manages to pull a novel magic card trick on [[MasterOfIllusion Jim Darkmagic]] himself (while K'thriss is revived and eventually joins the company's "C-Team" in the eponymous spinoff series).

* In ''WesternAnimation/FantasticFourWorldsGreatestHeroes'' episode "The Cure", the Fantastic Four are looking for a new powerhouse after Ben is cured of his affliction [[LaserGuidedAmnesia but has also lost all of his memories of ever being a superhero]]. After a string of failed auditioners, mousy Jennifer Walters is the last to step up to the plate. Johnny immediately mocks her and insists that whatever superpowers she has must be cool... right before Jennifer turns into ComicBook/SheHulk and makes Johnny [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl scream like a little girl.]] Jennifer is hired on the spot.

[[AC:Comic Books]]

[[AC:Fan Works]]

[[AC:Films - Live-Action]]

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Live-Action TV]]

[[AC:Podcasts]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

[[AC:Real Life]]

* In ''Film/TheProducers'', Max, Leo, and director Roger [=DeBris=] are auditioning performers for the lead role in ''Springtime For Hitler''. Roger rejects each and every one, but as they are wrapping up, dimwitted hippie Lorenzo St. [=DuBois=] arrives. He came to the wrong audition, he performs a ridiculous song about love and flowers, he seems generally out of it half the time... in other words, he's perfect for Max's scheme to make the worst play on Broadway.

* In ''Film/TheUntouchables'', Eliot Ness and Jimmy Malone go to the Chicago Police Academy seeking a trainee to serve them (since they're aren't already bribed by Al Capone's empire). They ask to speak to the top two shooters in the class, Wallace and Stone, who are interviewed one at a time. Wallace is the top shooter, however, he stutters so much that he can't even give a straight answer. Stone, on the other hand, shows that he can stand up for himself after Malone uses an anti-Italian slur against him, and he's picked as an Untouchable.
* In the 1978 Taiwanese movie ''War of the Wizards'' a newly-rich man interviews a series of people to be his bodyguard. As each candidate comes in they kill the prior one. The Cinema Snob is quick to point out that you want to be the last in line in such a situation.

* ''Literature/TheFamousFive'': In ''Five Go Adventuring Again'', Uncle Quentin chooses a tutor for the children. He interviews three applicants, and has almost chosen the last one, when another man comes in, all in a hurry, who has only just seen the advertisement, and hopes he is not too late. Uncle Quentin chooses him, saying the tutor even knows about Uncle Quentin and his work.

* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'': Frasier interviews several candidates to find a physical therapist for Martin, who keeps turning them down for increasingly frustrating reasons (he says the last one was casing their apartment). The last interviewee is perky, whimsical Daphne Moon, who Martin immediately takes a shine to and he hires her on the spot.

* ''Series/{{iCarly}}'': Zig-Zagged. When the group is looking to hire an intern, they go through multiple bad interviewees before getting to the charismatic and intelligent Brad, who seems perfect for the role... only for yet ''another'' interviewee to show up- BrainlessBeauty Cort, who gets hired immediately by the girls. Freddie does everything in his power to get the girls to fire him, and soon enough Brad is given the intern position.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In "The Itchy and Scratchy and Poochie Show" has the ''Itchy and Scratchy'' studio host auditions for a new character, Poochie. The first applicants are Troy [=McClure=] and Otto, who are praised, but Homer (who came last) has the best performance.

* By his account, Creator/CharlesMartinet was the last person to show up for the auditions for voicing Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], and the casting crew were packing up their things by the time he arrived. He then improvised a voice for Mario until the recording tape ran out, and has thus voiced Mario and much of his supporting cast since 1995.

* During the casting for ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'', co-creator Bruce Timm and voice director Andrea Romano were at their wits' end trying to find the perfect actor to portray the Caped Crusader after more than a hundred auditions. According to Timm, his team was, [[https://www.slashfilm.com/1098045/the-incredible-story-of-how-kevin-conroy-nailed-his-batman-audition/ "so desperate that anybody who would walk through the door... we would say, 'Oh, by the way, would you be interested in playing Batman as well?'"]] That's when Timm's roommate, a casting director, recommended stage actor Creator/KevinConroy for the role. Conroy's audition left the entire team in StunnedSilence at how suited his voice was. Then the rest is history.