Rachel McAdams Turned Down Leading Role in 'The Devil Wears Prada' Three Times

FilmThe iconic movie ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ would have looked almost completely different. Now it is Anne Hathaway (38) who plays the role of the main character Andy Sachs, but the makers of the film initially had someone else in mind. Only that fish did not want to bite, because ‘Mean Girls’ actress Rachel McAdams (42) has rejected their offer no less than three times.

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“The production was determined to get her and she was determined not to,” The Devil Wears Prada director David Frankel said of Rachel McAdams. The makers of the films were looking for an experienced actress, so Rachel, who previously starred in ‘The Notebook’ and ‘Mean Girls’, was the perfect choice. They have offered her the role of the lead character Andy Sachs no fewer than three times, but time and again McAdams refused to take the offer. In the end, the role went to Anne Hathaway, but the actress had to do her best. Other big names such as Scarlett Johansson, Natalie Portman, Kate Hudson and Kirsten Dunst were also interested in stepping into the skin of Andy Sachs.

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“It just hit me hard. It’s about a topic I take very seriously, but in a happy, light-hearted way,” Hathaway said in an interview with EW. To convince the makers, the actress went to extremes. She even wrote “Take Me” in the garden of Carla Hacken, the former Fox 2000 vice president. Ultimately, the production seriously considered Anne’s candidacy, but only when Meryl Streep, who plays Miranda Priestly in the movie, put in a good word for her.

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Seventh heaven

“Meryl was really looking forward to making this film and had just seen Anne at work in ‘Brokeback Mountain’. “‘This girl is fantastic and I think we’ll be a good fit,” she said to me at one point,” said director Frankel. When Hathaway finally got the redeeming phone call, she was in heaven. “I was already screaming through my apartment while I just had a group of friends over the floor.”

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Meryl Streep, who plays the ice queen Miranda Priestly in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’, has only fond memories of her collaboration with Anne. But the actress also has a number of less pleasant moments from her time on the set. To play such a cool and aloof character, Streep ventured into method acting, but she clearly didn’t like it. “It was awful. I was alone in my trailer and I heard everyone laughing. It even made me depressed. It was also the last time I tried method acting.”

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