Anne Hathaway Nearly Lost The Devil Wears Prada to This Rom-Com Favorite

If you can’t picture anyone but Anne Hathaway as Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada, well, you’re definitely not alone. But here’s something a lot of fans don’t know: Hathaway wasn’t the original pick for the role, and there’s a bit of a story behind how it all went down.

Wait, Kate Hudson Could Have Been Andrea Sachs?

Yep. Turns out Kate Hudson, fresh off her own rom-com success, actually got the offer for Andy before Anne Hathaway ever walked into Miranda Priestly’s office. This is one of those alternate timeline Hollywood what-ifs that’s equal parts surprising and, for Hudson, maybe just a smidge regretful.

So Why Didn’t She Do It?

Hudson opened up recently on The Drew Barrymore Show when Drew herself asked the question a lot of us didn’t even think to ask: did she turn it down on purpose?

Hudson explained, in her own words:

Translation: She didn’t exactly say 'no,' but the scheduling gods weren't on her side. There was a lot of back-and-forth, and it just didn’t come together. She also said later that, looking back, maybe she should’ve pushed harder to make it work.

No Hard Feelings. Really.

Hudson seems genuinely chill about missing out on the whole Meryl Streep-glare experience. She’s said it a few times now that things worked out the way they were supposed to, and she’s actually pretty complimentary about Hathaway’s performance. According to Hudson, Anne 'shone like the bright star she is.'

Hudson and Hathaway: Not All Parallel Universes

In a funny twist, just a few years after Hudson didn’t become Andy Sachs, she and Hathaway teamed up for another movie — Bride Wars (which, believe it or not, is apparently one of Drew Barrymore’s favorites). So even if Hudson didn’t get to walk the halls of Runway, she still ended up sharing the screen with Hathaway not long after.

Looking Back: Some Regret, Sure

This isn’t the first time Hudson has admitted she sometimes wishes she’d found a way to make her schedule work for The Devil Wears Prada. When Capital FM asked her last year about roles she missed, she straight-up called it 'a bad call.' She said she was frustrated about not taking the role, but wrapped it up with the classic 'everything happens for a reason.'

• Kate Hudson: Originally offered Andy Sachs, but scheduling issues (and maybe some indecision) meant she never signed on.
• Anne Hathaway: Took over the role and, let’s be honest, made Andy one of her signature characters.
• Hudson & Hathaway: Co-starred together in Bride Wars three years after Devil Wears Prada came out.

And if you’re wondering, yes, The Devil Wears Prada 2 is currently playing in theaters — just one more reminder that some casting changes might sting at the time, but Hollywood always manages another twist or two. Personally? Hard to imagine anyone else going toe-to-toe with Meryl’s Miranda now… but alternate history is kind of fun to picture.