People Didn't Think Meryl Streep Was Funny Enough for Her 'Devil Wears Prada' Role

It's hard to imagine anyone else in the role of original girl boss Miranda Priestly, but according to Wendy Finerman, Meryl Streep almost lost the role in The Devil Wears Prada. During a recent episode of the Hollywood Gold podcast, Finerman explained that people advised him against casting the Oscar-winning actress because she didn't have enough experience in comedy.

"Anne [Hathaway], we knew is a good every girl. She really is. She went to Vasser. She's a real All-American girl," she said. "And Meryl, people thought we were crazy. I had people call me up and say, 'Are you out of your mind? She's never been funny a day in her life.'"

But, Finerman insisted on moving forward, reminding people of Streep's comedic stint in her film Death Becomes Her. "She has been funny, and they were wrong," she said. "But this was clearly a different kind of world for her. I think that that was part of the fun of the unexpected of seeing her amidst in outfits." 

It turns out, Finerman's instincts were correct; Streep went on to portray the now-iconic character and even earn an Oscar nomination for her work. Streep has also since said that she dove head-first into the character, even trying method acting for one of the first times while shooting the 2006 film. “I was so depressed!” she told Entertainment Weekly in a 2021 interview. “I said, ‘Well, it's the price you pay for being boss!’ That's the last time I ever attempted a method thing!”

In a recent Variety Actors on Actors interview, Streep's co-stars, Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway, recalled working with the legend. "I remember Meryl coming up with like 18 different lines on the spot, Stanley [Tucci] doing the same, you, and I was just, like, this kindergartener," Hathaway joked. Blunt then referenced Streep's short-lived foray into method saying, "Do you know she's never done method acting since? She said it made her so miserable in this one."