Cameron Diaz almost wasn’t in The Mask!
Ahead of the film’s 25th anniversary of hitting theaters, director Chuck Russell revealed that he met with another actress before casting the 46-year-old actress opposite Jim Carrey.
In an interview with Variety, Chuck revealed that he was curious about casting Anna Nicole Smith in the role of Tina Carlyle and even met with her.
“We met. Anna was charming and bubbling but did not have other qualities needed for the role,” Chuck revealed. “I never took the next step to run scenes with her.”
The role ultimately ended up going to Cameron – which was her first big role that launched her career. Anna died from an accidental overdose at age 39 back in 2007.
“I saw Cameron’s 8×10 on the casting deck and asked, ‘What about her?’” Chuck shared. “I was told she was submitted but had not acted in anything else yet. I said to bring her in and let’s see. [Diaz] was the only person for the part as far as I was concerned after her first reading. And then I saw the chemistry with her and Jim [Carrey]. Eight callbacks later, including improvs with Jim, I finally convinced producers.”
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