- Alicia Silverstone, Clueless, 1994. Zooey, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Keri Russell, Tiffani Thiessen, Reese Witherspoon and Alicia Witt were in the Beverly Hills mix for teen queen Cher, who explains she and best pal Dionne “were both named after great singers of the past that now do infomercials.”
- Elisa Donovan, Clueless, 1994. And Zooey was also there in the line-up (with Sarah Michelle Gellar) for Amber – in director Amy Heckerling’s Beverly Hills flip-side of her Fast Times at Ridgemont High
- Cate Blanchett, Robin Hood, 2009. Well, Robin was an Aussie, too – Russell Crowe. Sienna Miller won the maid, er widow Marion (sic) from several candidates: Scarlett, Emily Blunt, Zooey Deschanel, Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, Saoirse Ronan. Then, Sienna dropped out and a whole new search began… among Blanchett, Rachel Weisz and Kate Winslet. Director Ridley Scoltt said the only Sherwood movie he thought was any good was… Mel Brooks’ Robin Hood: Men in Tights, 1993.
- Bijou Phjillips, Raising Hope, TV, 2010-2013. Gregory Thomas Garcia, the prolific TV creator (Yes Dear, My Name Is Earl, The Millers, during 2000-2014) wanted Zooey for the seven episodes of Lucy. Her agenda disagreed.
- Rachel McAdams, About Time, 2012. A date with a Terrence Malick ruled McAdams out of the time-travel rom-com by Richard Curtis. Familiar territory for McAdams – The Time Traveler’s Wife in 2008. .
- Jennifer Lawrence, The Silver Linings Playbook, 2012. “If you really want to go back and do an archeological dig,” laughed director David O Russell, “I wrote it for Vince Vaughn. And Zooey Deschanel.” Then, Jennifer did a reading on Skype with “an enormous amount of confidence that was beyond her years… toughness and a sweetness and charisma… I hadn’t seen anything like that.” JLaw won the Oscar for the film meaning her rivals Elizabeth Banks, Kirsten Dunst, Rachel McAdams, Rooney Mara, Andrea Riseborough, Olivia Wilde had been well and truly Skyped!
- Margot Robbie, Suicide Squad, 2015. Warners first offered DC’s Harley Quinn to Emma Roberts – more keen on heading TV’s Scream Queens. Big mistake. Also up for three hours a day in make-up for Quinn: Deschanel, Alison Brie, Emily Browning, Lily Collins, Rooney Mara, Sara Paxton, Imogen Poots, Amanda Seyfried, Olivia Thirlby, Emma Watson, Olivia Wilde, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Evan Rachel Wood.“There’s always two characters: Harleen Quinzel and Harley Quinn,” explained Robbie. “Where Harleen takes over, she can be rational; then Harley takes over, and that’s the more erratic.She loves causing mayhem and destruction. She’s incredibly devoted to the Joker. They have a dysfunctional relationship, but she loves him anyway. She used to be a gymnast – that’s her skill set when fighting.”
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 7