Meryl Streep revealed that she initially declined to play Miranda Priestly in the original Devil Wears Prada.
​In a recent appearance on Today, along with her costar Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci, for the promotion of the sequel of the fashion film, the 76-year-old actress shared that she agreed to take the role after doubling her asking price.
​She recalled, “I knew it was going to be a hit. I read the script, the script was great. They called me up, and they made an offer, and I said ‘No. I’m not going to do it.”
​Streep continued, “I wanted to see if I doubled my ask, and they went right away and said ‘Sure.'”
​The Mamma Mia star opened up about the mindset she had at the time after working in the industry for quite some time.
​”I’m 56 years [old], it took me this long to understand that I could do that! I was sure of it. I was sure it would be a hit. And they needed me, I felt. And I wanted it, but if they didn’t want to do that, I was okay. Because I’m old, I’m 56, I was ready to retire.”
​The Devil Wears Prada, based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel under the same name, was released in 2006 and collected $326.7 million worldwide.
​The film earned Streep a Golden Globe for best actress in a comedy, along with an Oscar nomination.
​It became one of the most commercially successful films of Streep’s career, after Mamma Mia! and It’s Complicated.
​Now, Streep is reprising her role in the sequel of the Devil Wears Prada, set for its theatrical release on May 1.
