TORONTO -- "Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston received a thunderous round of applause at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday night as he gave audiences a glimpse of what the acclaimed 1999 movie "American Beauty" might have looked like had he been cast in the lead role instead of Kevin Spacey.
Cranston, "Mad Men" star Christina Hendricks, Adam Driver ("Girls") and Mae Whitman ("Parenthood") were among those who participated in a "table read" of the film organized by director Jason Reitman.
The "Juno" helmer has overseen a few such events over the past few years. He says table reads -- when actors sit together try out a script -- are a lot of fun when he is testing out his own projects.
"But I always thought it would be so much more fun with other people's scripts," he told the audience at the Ryerson Theatre. "The idea is, if they made this movie today, who would they cast?"
Reitman has made no secret of his love for the Toronto festival, where he premiered his first film, 2005's "Thank You For Smoking," as well as subsequent titles "Juno" and "Up in the Air."
He's particularly fond of the Ryerson, which was packed Thursday for the "American Beauty" event.
While Cranston played put-upon husband Lester Burnham, Hendricks took on the role of his high-strung wife Carolyn Burnham (the role for which Annette Bening received an Oscar nomination).
Whitman tackled the part of Jane Burnham (Thora Birch in the movie), Driver was camcorder-loving neighbour Ricky Fitts (Wes Bentley in the original) and Canadian Sarah Gadon ("Cosmopolis") was Angela Hayes (Mena Suvari), the teenaged object of Lester Burnham's desire.
Previous table reads organized by Reitman include "The Princess Bride," "The Big Lebowski" and "The Apartment."
Directed by Sam Mendes, "American Beauty" won five Oscars, including best picture.
Reitman stressed that the actors who read on Thursday night had only just met each other. They sat in a row of chairs onstage, with simple set locations projected on a screen behind them.
"What you are seeing is a true first shot," said the director, who read the background instructions in the screenplay.
Added the director: "American Beauty premiered in Toronto and began a trend of the festival being a road to the Oscars. And it's one of my favourite films. It slays me."
The Toronto International Film Festival runs until Sept. 16. Cranston is also at the festival with the buzzed-about Ben Affleck film "Argo."
