Irrespective of whatever role she is assigned, Meryl Streep makes sure to really sell it to her audience. By giving the most accurate and compelling performance to the best of her ability every single time, the actress has established an incredibly reputed position for herself in the industry.
However, sometimes, in order to perform in the best possible way, Streep found herself losing herself along the way — just like she did while shooting The Devil Wears Prada. In fact, she even went so far as to say that her iconic role left her depressed and devoid of any emotion during filming due to her method acting.
Miranda Priestly In The Devil Wears Prada Is Meryl Streep’s Least Favorite Role
Meryl Streep played the character of Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada, whose personality was the complete opposite of hers. Thus, to completely pull off her character, she chose method acting and was completely immersed in Priestly’s character even off-set.
Appearing in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, she explained how ‘horrible’ her experience of playing the intimidating editor-in-chief of a fashion magazine was.
“It was horrible!” she stated, “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!”
Emily Blunt, her co-star from the film, further added how difficult it was for Streep to go through all that.
“Meryl is so gregarious and fun as hell, in some ways it wasn’t the most fun for her having to remove herself. It wasn’t like she was unapproachable; You could go up to her and say, ‘Oh my God, the funniest thing just happened,’ and she’d listen, but I don’t know if it was the most fun for her to be on set being that way.”
During another interview with The Herald (via Press Reader), Blunt even mentioned how the character of Priestly was the Mamma Mia! actress’s least favorite role.
“I remember talking to Meryl Streep when we did Devil Wears Prada, and she said it was her least favourite role, because you’re devoid of any softness or emotion really, and I understand that.”
However, what’s even more surprising than this is the fact that Meryl Streep herself picked Miranda Priestly’s character to portray in The Devil Wears Prada!
Meryl Streep Chose To Be Miranda Priestly Herself
As per IndieWire, Meryl Streep’s reaction after reading the script for The Devil Wears Prada was actually a positive one, with her fully expecting the story to resonate with the audiences to the core.
“Right in the beginning, reading the script, I thought, ‘Nobody’s seen this before and the girls are going to like this!’ I didn’t have any doubt about it. It’s very rare and you know it when it’s happening. People knew,” Streep said. “You never know how it’s going to go. It’s a collaborative thing. Chemistry comes from the director’s particular desire to tell the story. But even with the silly scenes that are comic, everything has a subversive point.”
Continuing, she shared how it was Mirana Priestly’s character that truly fascinated her the most.
“The most interesting piece to me was the responsibility lying on the shoulders of a woman who was the head of a global brand and fashion empire. In business terms, I wanted to know what that was like,” Streep said.
Thus she chose the character, and even though she didn’t quite get to enjoy shooting for The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep still gave one of the most exceptional performances of all time which not only made her character an iconic one but even contributed immensely to making the film both a critical as well as commercial success.
