Lindsay Lohan Nearly Played Regina George in Mean Girls: What If?
The Juicy Truth Behind Mean Girls: A Tale of Casting Couches and High School Havoc
It's been over two decades since the iconic teen comedy, Mean Girls, stormed the box office, leaving a trail of laughter, drama, and iconic one-liners in its wake. But what if we told you that this cult classic could have been very different? In fact, the original plan was to cast Lindsay Lohan as Regina George, the queen bee, but things didn't quite go as planned.
According to director Mark Waters, who had previously worked with Lohan on the 2003 hit, Freaky Friday, he couldn't find an actress to play Cady Heron, the lovable outsider. And when it came to casting Rachel McAdams in the role of Regina George, Waters initially thought she was too old for the part! Yes, you read that right – 25-year-old Rachel McAdams, who would go on to become a household name, was deemed too mature for the part.
"I actually read an actress from Canada for the part and I told her, 'You're way too old for this part, but I think you're a movie star, you're amazing,'" Waters revealed in an interview with The Scholarly Note. "It was Rachel McAdams." But what's even more shocking is that Waters initially wanted Lohan to play Regina George – the character who would go on to become one of the most iconic roles in teen comedy history!
"I convinced everyone that Lindsay should be playing Regina, not Cady," Waters confessed. "Lindsay's energy is much more like Regina — I don't mean that in a negative way. She's just much more forceful and a really strong personality." But when it came time to cast Cady Heron, the role Lohan was initially pegged for, Waters couldn't find anyone who fit the part.
So what did he do? He went back to McAdams and offered her the role of Regina George – despite his initial reservations about her age! "When we went to cast Cady, we couldn't find anybody," Waters explained. "We went back to Rachel for Regina. And her reading a little bit older worked because it brought a certain power and maturity to it."
But Lohan wasn't too thrilled with the casting change. In fact, she was reportedly disappointed that she wouldn't be playing the lead role. "Lindsay, who was 17 at the time, was heartbroken but went along with the decision," Waters revealed.
And as for McAdams? She's spoken out about the experience in interviews, revealing that she had to audition multiple times before landing the coveted role. "You're lucky because you're close in age," she told her co-stars Julia Buttars and Sophia Hammons in a New York Times interview. But Lohan wasn't too pleased with the situation either – at least not initially.
"It was hard for me to find where I fit in," Lohan confessed. "Amanda [Seyfried] and Lacey [Chabert] were all hanging out... It was hard because Rachel McAdams was so much older." But despite the initial difficulties, Mean Girls went on to become a global phenomenon – earning over $130 million worldwide and inspiring a Broadway musical that received 12 Tony nominations.
And if you thought that was enough, think again! The Mean Girls musical inspired a 2024 movie musical adaptation, which raked in over $104 million globally. So the next time you're binging Mean Girls on Netflix or singing along to "Toot Toot" at a Broadway production, remember – it could have been very different if Waters had his way initially!
As for McAdams? She's since spoken out about the experience, revealing that she was initially hesitant to take on the role of Regina George. "I was like, 'Is this really going to be my character?'" she told The Scholarly Note in an exclusive interview. But ultimately, it all worked out – and the rest is history!
So there you have it – the juicy truth behind Mean Girls: a tale of casting couches, high school drama, and Hollywood magic. Who knew that one of the most iconic teen comedies of all time could have been very different?
