Meryl Streep almost didn’t play Miranda Priestly.
The Oscar winner has revealed that she turned down the original Devil Wears Prada before changing her mind, and that her conditions for saying yes involved doubling her asking price.
Speaking on Today alongside co-stars Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci to promote the sequel, Streep explained exactly how it played out.
“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.'”
She wanted to find out just how badly she was wanted.
“I wanted to see if I doubled my ask, and they went right away and said ‘Sure.'”
She recalled the mindset that had brought her to that position.
“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 fact that she did sign on turned out to be rather significant.
The Devil Wears Prada earned Streep an Oscar nomination and launched her into a new phase as a genuine box-office draw.
What followed was one of the most commercially successful runs of her career, including Mamma Mia!, It’s Complicated and ultimately her third Academy Award win for The Iron Lady in 2012.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 marks Streep’s first live-action film performance in five years. The sequel opens on 1 May.
