Reese Witherspoon And Kerry Washington Both Auditioned To Be In ‘Clueless’
Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington aren’t exactly actresses who have a lot to complain about. Both have become hugely successful stars, and now they’ve teamed up for Little Fires Everywhere, which just debuted on Hulu. In a recent interview for BuzzFeed, the two revealed that both of them had previously auditioned to be in Clueless.
“One thing that is public and it came out last year, I auditioned so hard for Clueless and I didn’t get it,” Witherspoon said in the interview.
After Witherspoon said that, Washington eagerly chimed in saying “I did too!”
Neither actress was ultimately cast in the teen classic, which was released in 1995 and directed by Amy Heckerling. The lead role of Cher ultimately went to Alicia Silverstone, and her best friend Dionne was played by Stacey Dash. Although both actresses give iconic performances, Washington couldn’t resist speculating about what the movie would have looked like with her and Witherspoon in those roles.
“That would’ve been different. We should do, like, a remake,” Washington said.
Witherspoon seemed to agree and added, “We could recreate a scene. That would be so fun!”
2020 marks the 25th anniversary of the movie’s release, and theaters across the country were planning to hold screenings of the movie on May 3, according to Entertainment Weekly. Following massive closures in response to fears around the coronavirus, though, it’s unclear whether those plans are still in place.
A TV reboot of the movie is also in the works at CBS. The reimagined series will focus on Dionne, and an early synopsis for the new show describes it as “a baby pink and bisexual blue-tinted, tiny sunglasses-wearing, oat milk latté, and Adderall-fueled look at what happens when the high school Queen Bee (Cher) disappears and her life-long No. 2 (Dionne) steps into Cher’s vacant Air Jordans.” While Witherspoon and Washington never got to play those roles, it seems some other young actress will get the chance to play Dionne, at least.
Elsewhere in their interview, Witherspoon and Washington discussed their relationship, and how it had deepened as they got to know one another through Times Up, an organization fighting for women’s equality in the film industry.
Washington also said that the two bonded over their similar careers, as they discussed starting their own production companies, being a working mom and balancing their marriages with their careers. Witherspoon also said that she was proud of Washington for stepping into a leadership position that she deserved, and was happy to see Washington thriving in that position.
