The Devil Wears Pradawas met withmixed reviews when it came out in 2006,a surprise given how iconic it has become in the years since. Now,with a sequel forthcoming,The Devil Wears Pradais as much a part of the popular culture conversation as it ever has been.
The Devil Wears Pradahas given viewers dialogue, fashion tips, and icy glares that have lived on. Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly was the perfect villain, while Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs was convincing in her portrayal of a naive journalist who becomes a fashion-savvy personal assistant. Each of the actors inThe Devil Wears Pradabrought their own unique twists to their characters, but Streep dominated the big screen in her role. She even improvised one of the most powerful lines in the movie, an example of just how convincing she was as Miranda Priestly.
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When Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt sat down withVarietyin 2023, they talked about what it was like to makeThe Devil Wears Prada. When presented with quotes from the movie, the first one they read was “Is there some reason that my coffee isn’t here? Has she died or something?” Instantly,Blunt recalled, “I remember that one. I think [Streep] improvised that one.”
Hathaway then opened up about the talents of Streep and Stanley Tucci when it came to improvising:
I remember seeing Meryl come up with 18 different lines on the spot. Stanley Tucci was doing the same, and you. I was just like this kindergartner who was like, “How are they all so good?”
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That wasn’t the most powerful quip Streep came up with on the fly, however. When the writers and cast ofThe Devil Wears Pradareunited for aninterview withEntertainment Weeklyon the 15th anniversary of the movie, screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna said,
“In the table read, I’d written a line in the last scene in the limousine, ‘everybody wants to be me,’ and [Streep] changed it to, ‘everybody wants to be us,’ because there was the sense that it’s about the mores of an entire world; It’s not about one woman and her values.”
Additionally,this small change was rife with impact as it made it painfully clear to Andy that she was already deep into the world she purported to detest.
Meryl Streep Almost Didn’t Get the Role of Miranda Priestly
It’s difficult to imagine anyone elseplaying Miranda Priestly, but the part almost went to someone other than Meryl Streep. Producer Wendy Finerman said ontheHollywood GoldpodcastthatStreep was categorized as unfunny. Finerman talked about what happened when word broke that Streep was being considered for the part, “I mean, I had people call me up and say, ‘Are you out of your mind? She’s never been funny a day in her life.'”
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Finerman pointed out thatDeath Becomes Herwas one of the movies in which Streep had comedic flair, but did acknowledge it wasn’t the norm for her. Even with that in mind, Finerman said Streep as Miranda Priestly “was part of the fun of the unexpected.” Lauren Weisberger, the writer of the novel upon which the movie was based,admitted in 2016,
I remember when they said, ‘Meryl [Streep] is interested,’ and I remember thinking, ‘she is so amazing, but I can’t envision it’
As one of the naysayers, Weisberger did amea culpa, acknowledging, “All you had to do was see her on set one day and it became crystal clear.
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Speaking withEntertainment Weeklyin 2021, Streep talked more about what wentinto her portrayal of Miranda Priestly. She basedPriestly’s communication style on Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood:
“It was a direct steal from the way I saw Clint Eastwood run a set. He’s someone that guys really respect, and he never raises his voice, ever; the one time that he did, it so terrified people for two weeks, they were traumatized. In drama school [a teacher] said, “How you play a king has nothing to do with you—you’re just you—it’s how everybody else in the room acts when you enter it that makes you the king.” It was all up to them to have this reaction. I could just speak and be slightly nastier than I normally am.”
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To maintain her character’s icy demeanor,Streep withdrew from her colleagues and became, in Emily Blunt’s words, “unapproachable.“Streep lamented,
“It was horrible! I was [miserable] in my trailer. I could hear them all rocking and laughing. I was so depressed! I said, “Well, it’s the price you pay for being boss!” That’s the last time I ever attempted a Method thing!”
Apparently, it worked, however, and Anne Hathaway admitted she felt “intimidated” while on set.
