Joel and Ethan Coen had almost given up on casting the lead for their film "Inside Llewyn Davis." The part, a folk musician in early 1960s Greenwich Village, demanded the elusive combination of someone who could both carry a movie and perform the songs central to the film.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/movies/in-coen-brothers-cannes-hit-inside-llewyn-davis-oscar-isaac-gets-his-big-break-208298791.html
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/movies/in-coen-brothers-cannes-hit-inside-llewyn-davis-oscar-isaac-gets-his-big-break-208298791.html
