Anne Hathaway’s super-relatable role as Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada has gone down in film history – even if writer Aline Brosh McKenna isn’t quite so sympathetic towards the character as you might expect.
But, in news which has the internet shook this weekend, Hathaway has revealed that she was nowhere near first choice to star opposite Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt in the iconic movie.
During her appearance on this week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Hathaway was asked by contestant Rosé if there was any role she “had to fight tooth and nail for”.
“How much time do you have? A lot of them,” the Oscar-winning actress replied. “I will give you some tea – I was the ninth choice for Devil Wears Prada. But I got it! Hang in there, never give up.”
Hathaway’s honest advice had the desired effect, with one fan tweeting: “Guys, the fact that Anne Hathaway was 9th choice for Devil Wears Prada has given me FAITH in my career wowowowowowowow.”
The internet then turned to wondering which actresses might have been in the mix alongside Hathaway. Well, we know one name for sure, because it was revealed in 2016 that Rachel McAdams was approached following her impressive performances in Mean Girls and The Notebook.
According to a Variety article marking the movie’s 10th anniversary McAdams turned down the role “multiple times” because she wanted to “step away from mainstream material”.
Hathaway said in the same article: “I didn’t have to audition. I had to be patient. I wasn’t the first choice.”
She also recalled getting a call from an agent with the good news, saying: “I was putting on a shirt. I had some buddies over. I remember running out in my living room, half dressed, screaming: ‘I got The Devil Wears Prada! I got The Devil Wears Prada!’”
According to Entertainment Tonight, Juliette Lewis and Claire Danes also auditioned for the role, but there are no further details about how their auditions went or whether they were enthused about the movie.
This just leaves another five actresses who may have been in the mix too. Your guess is as good as ours, but maybe we’ll find out when the film turns 15 later this year?
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