Molly Ringwaldonly had eyes for one movie with the word “pretty” in its title — and it wasn’tPretty Woman!
In a new interview withThe Guardian, thePretty in Pinkactress, 55, revealed exactly why she turned downJulia Roberts' eventual role in ’90s classic,Pretty Woman.
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“Julia Roberts was wonderful in it, but I didn’t really like the story,” Ringwald told the outlet. “Even then, I felt like there was something icky about it.”
“‘She really needs to be at that moment where you feel the pain,'” she remembersWorking Girldirector Mike Nichols saying in the late ’80s. “‘You have your whole life ahead of you — nobody’s going to believe that of you.'”
“I didn’t really feel like darker roles were available to me,” the actress added of that period in her career. “The ones that I wanted to do, I didn’t get. I was too young for certain roles. I was at this weird in-between stage.”
But when it comes toPretty Woman, the actress has never been shy to discuss her decision to turn it down. During a Reddit AMA in 2012, Ringwald was candid about herPretty Womanpass — which, at the time, she didn’t exactly remember as a pass.
“I think I saw an early draft and it was called$3,000. I don’t specifically remember turning it down,” she shared. “The script was okay, but I gotta say, Julia Roberts is what makes that movie. It was her part. Every actor hopes for a part that lets them shine like that.”
The movie itself, starring now-55-year-old Roberts oppositeRichard Gere, ended up being a massive success, earning the actress an Academy Award nomination for best actress and winning her the Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture – musical or comedy.
Molly Ringwald.Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic
In other recent turning-down-roles news,Toni Colletteopened up this month about her decision tonotstar in the iconicBridget Jonesfranchise — which, of course, starredRenée Zellwegerand marked her first Academy Award nomination in 2002.
But as Collette, 50, explained onWatch What Happens Live, she has no regrets in her career. “I think there are no coincidences. Anything that’s meant for you in life is meant to happen. I have no regrets — life happens as it’s meant to. But that is true, yeah.”
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Collette previously shared in an interview withYahoo Entertainmentthat she was offered the starring role in 2001’sBridget Jones’s Diary, but ultimately passed on the opportunity because she was “busy” working on the Broadway musicalThe Wild Party.
“I wasn’t available,” the Australian actress said. “But sometimes I think about and I think, I don’t know, that character’s so similar to Muriel [ofMuriel’s Wedding]. It might’ve been too close. And I try not to repeat myself.”
source: people.com
