Anne Hathaway Reveals She Was Far From the First Choice for ‘Devil Wears Prada’ Role

Anne Hathaway stopped by for a virtual appearance on the latest episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race in order to give the contestants some advice about musical theater. Hathaway won an Oscar for her role as Fantine in Les Misérables, so the actress knows a thing or two about musicals. Hathaway was also asked by contestant Rosé whether there were any roles in her long career that she had to “fight tooth and nail for.”

Hathaway replied in the affirmative, joking “How much time do you have?” before sharing a surprising bit of movie trivia. “I will give you some tea: I was the ninth choice for Devil Wears Prada,” she revealed. “But I got it! Hang in there; never give up.” Rachel McAdams was apparently the studio’s first choice for the role of Andy Sachs, but it’s hard to imagine anyone else in the role than Hathaway. Hathaway referenced the famous role on her Instagram account in June, sharing a pro-mask-wearing meme featuring a riff on one of The Devil Wears Prada‘s most quotable lines with the caption “Face Masks. During a pandemic. Groundbreaking.”

Hathaway has been open about the choices that she’s made over the course of her career, admitting that there were some missteps along the way. “I did everything so wrong for so long,” she told People in 2019, admitting that even at the height of her career she struggled with “feelings of inadequacy, insecurity and nervousness and anxiety.”

“I’m not big on looking back,” the star of The Witches admitted. “But I remember 10 years ago being so scared going into the whole awards season and doing what I thought I was supposed to do, so I barely ate anything at Christmas. I thought movie stars had to have a certain body. I was just smoking, just smoking my nerves away and wasn’t nourishing myself.”

Hathaway may have had to fight for roles over the course of her career, but she has gotten to a place where she no longer apologizes for her ambition. “I just figured out how to say thank you to life by taking care of myself,” she explained. “By not apologizing for taking up space, which is not something I knew how to do 10 years ago. It’s been a journey. I don’t look that different, but I just feel like the inside has transformed so much.”

There was a period of time, particularly after she co-hosted the Oscars with James Franco in 2011, when Hathaway faced a lot of undue hate online. However, Hathaway doesn’t let that affect her now. “Everybody’s entitled to their opinion. What I appreciate is when the negativity has some intelligence behind it. What I don’t like is lazy negativity. If you’re going to take someone down, have a point of view! Be witty, maybe pun a little!”