Meryl Streep revealed that she initially declined to play Miranda Priestly in the original Devil Wears Prada.
In a recent appearance on Today, along with her costar Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, for the promotion of the sequel of the fashion film, the 76-year-old actress shared that she agreed to take the role after doubling her asking price.
She recalled, “I knew it was going to be a hit. I read the script, the script was great. They called me up, and they made an offer, and I said ‘No. I’m not going to do it.”
Streep continued, “I wanted to see if I doubled my ask, and they went right away and said ‘Sure.'”
The Mamma Mia star opened up about the mindset she had at the time after working in the industry for quite some time.
”I’m 56 years [old], it took me this long to understand that I could do that! I was sure of it. I was sure it would be a hit. And they needed me, I felt. And I wanted it, but if they didn’t want to do that, I was okay. Because I’m old, I’m 56, I was ready to retire.”
The Devil Wears Prada, based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel under the same name, was released in 2006 and collected $326.7 million worldwide.
The film earned Streep a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy, along with an Oscar nomination.
It became one of the most commercially successful films of Streep’s career, after Mamma Mia! and It’s Complicated.
Now, Streep is reprising her role in the sequel of the Devil Wears Prada, set for its theatrical release on May 1.
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