Mean Girls Is perfect cast, and it is difficult to imagine how the movie would look like Lindsay Lohan as the main character, Cady Heron, but Lohan originally interested in the role of Regina George. Lohan was already a major teen star in 2004, gaining popularity from The parent trap In 1998 as well as Freaky Friday And Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen.
Kady is the POV lead of Mean GirlsBut Regina is the leader of the Plastics, and a teenage Lohan felt that Regina would be a more glamorous role to play. Luckily, Lohan was convinced to play Cady, but then the casting team had to find someone to play Regina who could hold her own against Lohan’s star power. Many of these Mean Girls Throw in actually auditioning for characters other than the ones they ended up playing, and Lohan’s life changed dramatically after Mean Girls. Mean Girls Could have been a completely different movie if one piece of casting landed differentlyWith Lohan’s sliding doors moment is the ultimate example.
Lindsay Lohan wanted to play Regina George in Mean Girls
Lindsay Lohan thought Regina George would be a more enjoyable role
Regina George was the role Lohan wanted to play after reading the script Mean Girls. Lohan felt she played the role of a normal, underdog teenager Freaky Friday And Confessions of a Teenage Drama QueenSo Lohan wanted to play Regina and go against type to be the glamorous, popular girl with the cool car and chic wardrobe. After she reached a new level of success Freaky Friday, The casting team didn’t want to alienate Lindsay Lohan’s audience by having her play an outright villainSo she switched to playing the main character and audience surrogate, Cady.
Once Lindsay was attached to play caddy, the Mean Girls Casting team had to find an actress who could play a Regina who would dominate the screen. Rachel McAdams originally auditioned to play Cady, but director Mark Waters felt she was too old to play the lead. Lohan was 17 and McAdams was 26. However, her age worked to McAdams’ advantage when she read for Regina against Lohan, as the younger actress was a little intimidated by the age gap. The dynamic worked well for Regina and Cady.
Like Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams’ casting impacted middle girls
The dynamic between Kady Heron and Regina George is at the heart of Mean Girls
While Caddy is the lead of Mean GirlsRegina George is the titular mean girl and McAdams’ take on Regina is instantly iconic. Tina Fey loved the “Kind and polite” Facade McAdams brought to a cold, calculating character. Regina is manipulative, and McAdams gives Regina a layered performance where her actions can be interpreted in different ways. Although not everyone agrees that Regina is the true villain of Mean GirlsMcAdams was an indispensable part of the complexity of the character.
When Cady meets Regina, Regina compliments a bracelet that Cady is wearing. Once they’re friends, Regina pulls a similar stunt where she compliments a girl’s skirt only to turn around and call the skirt “Bird,” leading Cady to recontextualize every interaction since they met. However, McAdams’ magnetic portrayal of Regina helps audiences understand why Cady is drawn into her orbit, even though Regina is pure evil. Without her performance, this nuance would not have been possible.
Lohan wanted to play the popular girl, and Cuddy gave her the opportunity to play the “Homeschooled jungle freak“As well as the Queen of the Plastics. She plays exclusively naive and sheltered, and her transition into a bad girl is equally believable. Mean Girls Hinges on even Caddy not realizing when she crosses the line from pretending to be a bad girl to actually becoming one. Lohan nails Cady’s subtle transition Mean Girls And even elevate the voice-over beyond mere explanation.
Regina George seems like the splashier role, but it’s hard to picture Mean Girls Without Lohan bringing such charm to Cady Heron’s POV character.
Lohan could have fulfilled the role of Regina George, however Mean Girls Like a movie would feel unbalanced with her playing the apex predator. Because she was the big star of the movie and known for playing likable leads, Casting Lohan as the villain may have made Regina George too sympathetic. Regina seems like the splashier role, but it’s hard to picture Mean Girls Without Lohan bringing such charm to the POV character of Cuddy.
As were the other casting choices of the girl
Amanda Seyfried also auditioned for a different role
When a movie is cast as perfectly as Mean GirlsThe actors seem destined for the roles, but the Mean Girls Casting team explored a few different avenues for characters or actors. There were a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes facts in the production of Mean GirlsBut it’s hard to imagine more impressive than the movie’s casting dramas and dilemmas.
Amanda Seyfried originally auditioned for Regina, although she ended up playing Karen Smith. Director Mark Waters said Seyfried brought a “Spacey“, ethereal energy to Regina This was different from McAdams. Lizzie Kaplan was considered too conventionally beautiful to play the outcast Janice Ian, but her audition blew away the competition. Jonathan Bennett won the role of Hearts Samuels because he reminded Tina Fey of Jimmy Fallon. Amy Poehler was cast as Mrs. George, Regina’s mother, despite being only seven years older than Rachel McAdams.
Mean Girls is endlessly quotable and filled with iconic performances. Imagining Mean Girls Starring Lindsay Lohan as Regina George and Rachel McAdams as Cady Heron is an interesting thought experiment, but the film’s enduring legacy and contemporary success prove that the right actors end up in the right roles.