Neil Diamond was so desperate to ditch his squeaky-clean image, he once auditioned to play troubled comedian Lenny Bruce.Diamond was desperate to land the lead role in the 1974 drama Lenny and reportedly performed a successful screen test in which he "transformed" into the controversial funnyman.David Wild, author of Diamond's biography He Is... I Say, tells gossip column Page Six, "In just a few seconds, he somehow transformed himself into a believable dirty-mouthed, Constitution-defending comedian."The part ultimately went to Dustin Hoffman, who scored a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of the comic.

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