Ashton Kutcher: 'I was fired from Elizabethtown so director could hire Orlando Bloom'

Ashton Kutcher believes he was let go from the 2005 movie Elizabethtown so the director could hire his first choice, Orlando Bloom.

The 41-year-old actor was originally tapped to star alongside Kirsten Dunst as Drew Baylor in the 2005 romantic comedy, but was let go in favour of Orlando part way into filming.

Opening up about the dismissal during a segment on First We Feast's YouTube series Hot Ones, set to debut on Thursday, the star confessed he was "fired" from the role - and suggested director Cameron Crowe always wanted The Lord of the Rings actor as his leading man.

"Yeah, I'll say fired, sure. (Cameron) originally wanted Orlando Bloom for Elizabethtown and Orlando Bloom was working on a Ridley Scott picture, and wasn't available," Ashton shared. "So I went (to) audition, he cast me and then we started working on it.

"I think he wanted to see the character rehearsals all the way, and I probably wasn't disciplined enough as an actor to get myself to a point where I was able to do that and show it to him in a way that he felt comfortable."

However, he went on to insist the decision to drop out of the role was mutual, adding: "At a certain point we just kind of agreed that it wasn't working out. More him than me... Also, I found out at the same time that Orlando Bloom had just become available right when he was gonna let me go."

The actor had previously told IGN that he wasn't fired and that the film simply conflicted with his commitment to TV series That '70s Show, while the filmmaker told The Hollywood Reporter in 2011: "At a certain point, it's like, 'This is not meant to be'... It felt like a noble crusade."

Elizabethtown also starred Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Jessica Biel, and Judy Greer.