Anne Hathaway: I Was the ‘9th Choice’ for ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Lead

Anne Hathaway opened up about fighting for her iconic role as Andy Sachs in 2006’s ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ — details

There can only be one Andy Sachs! Anne Hathaway got real about the struggles she faced before landing her iconic role in The Devil Wears Prada.

The Oscar winner, 38, appeared on the Friday, February 19, episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, during which a contestant named Rosé asked her if she had to “fight tooth and nail for” any parts in her lengthy career. “How much time do you have?” Hathaway quipped.

Anne Hathaway Reveals She Was the ‘9th Choice’ for ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ Lead — Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Emily Blunt in ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’ Barry Wetcher/20th Century Fox/Kobal/Shutterstock

The Princess Diaries star then recounted her experience landing her role in the 2006 film. “I will give you some tea: I was the ninth choice for Devil Wears Prada,” she noted. “But I got it! Hang in there; never give up.”

Hathaway starred as the assistant to ruthless fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly — played by Meryl Streep — in the movie. Emily Blunt (Emily), Stanley Tucci (Nigel), Adrian Grenier (Nate) and Simon Baker (Christian) rounded out the A-list cast. Streep, 71, won a Golden Globe and received an Oscar nod for her role.

Rachel McAdams spoke out in 2007 about repeatedly passing on the part of Andy. “I’m not going to make movies just to make movies,” the Mean Girls star, 42, told Elle magazine at the time of being the top choice for the role. “I have to be passionate about it. And at the same time, I can get very distracted when I’m working, and I like to get back to my life a lot.”

Claire Danes and Juliette Lewis auditioned for the lead too, but Hathaway ultimately landed the job.

The Bride Wars actress told Variety in June 2016 that she “had to be patient” while waiting for things to pan out. “I was putting on a shirt,” she recalled of learning that she got the part. “I had some buddies over. I remember running out in my living room, half-dressed, screaming — I got The Devil Wears Prada! I got The Devil Wears Prada!”

Hathaway shared another revelation about her career in January, noting that the world has been calling her by the wrong name for years. “Call me Annie, everybody. Everybody, call me Annie, please,” she said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, adding that she wants to be called “anything but Anne.”

The Ocean’s 8 star explained that she used her formal moniker for her Screen Actors Guild card after she appeared in a commercial at age 14. However, only her mother calls her Anne “when she’s really mad,” leading to hilarious results when she hears the name. “So every time I step out in public and someone calls my name, I think they’re going to yell at me.”