\n<\/p>\n
If you thought you knew everything about <\/span>Mean Girls<\/span><\/i>, prepare to have your mind blown \u2014 because the movie very nearly looked different in one crucial way.<\/span><\/p>\n In a revelation that somehow stayed secret for over two decades, <\/span>Ross Mathews<\/b> disclosed on the April 1 episode of <\/span>The Drew Barrymore Show<\/span><\/i> that <\/span>Tina Fey<\/b> originally had him in mind when she wrote the role of Damian.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yes, that Damian. The, \u201cShe doesn\u2019t even go here\u201d Damian. The Damian who helped guide Cady Heron through the social minefield of North Shore High School.<\/span><\/p>\n And Mathews actually auditioned for it.<\/span><\/p>\n The bombshell dropped during a game of Moss or Ross with guest <\/span>Elizabeth Moss<\/b>, where Drew Barrymore had to guess whether a given fact applied to Ross or Moss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The clue she was given said, \u201cI auditioned to be in <\/span>Mean Girls<\/span><\/i>,\u201d and Barrymore guessed Moss.<\/span><\/p>\n The answer was, of course, Ross.<\/span><\/p>\n Ross Mathews visits SiriusXM Studios on December 09, 2024 in New York City.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \u201cBack in 2002-ish, 2003? I was just on <\/span>The Tonight Show<\/span><\/i> and I got a call saying, \u2018Will you audition for this movie for a kid in high school?\u2019 And I was like, \u2018I\u2019m too old,\u2019\u201d Mathews, who would\u2019ve been around 23 or 24 at the time, <\/span>told Barrymore<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But he didn\u2019t just audition \u2014 the part was quite literally written for him.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd they said, \u2018<\/span>Tina Fey<\/b> kind of had you in mind when she wrote the part of Damian,\u2019\u201d he continued \u2014 adding that he has \u201cnever told anyone this\u201d before.<\/span><\/p>\n So why didn\u2019t he get the part? Despite doing the audition, Mathews said it wasn\u2019t exactly a triumphant moment for him.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was terrible and didn\u2019t get it,\u201d he said on the show. \u201cIt\u2019s a great movie. It\u2019s iconic, and I can\u2019t believe I was there at the beginning a little bit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s something so endearingly honest about the now-beloved <\/span>RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/span><\/i> judge casually admitting he tanked his shot at one of the most quotable comedies ever made. But honestly? That level of self-awareness is very on-brand.<\/span><\/p>\n The role ultimately went to <\/span>Daniel Franzese<\/b>, who delivered one of the film\u2019s most iconic lines: \u201cShe doesn\u2019t even go here!\u201d Franzese\u2019s Damian became the heart of the movie\u2019s outsider crew \u2014 Janis Ian\u2019s (played by <\/span>Lizzy Caplan<\/b>) loyal best friend and one of the first people to befriend Cady Heron (<\/span>Lindsay Lohan<\/b>) at North Shore High School.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He and Janis were the ones who initially guided Cady through the school\u2019s social landscape and recruited her into their scheme to take down Regina George and the Plastics.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s nearly impossible to imagine anyone else in the role now, which is what makes this alternate-casting revelation so fascinating.<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s another layer of <\/span>Mean Girls<\/span><\/i> lore worth savoring: Fey based a lot of the characters on real people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Damian was inspired by <\/span>Damian Holbrook<\/b> \u2014 a senior writer at TV Guide \u2014 and his brother, Jim. Holbrook and Fey were friends growing up, having met at Summer Stage when he was 13, according to <\/span>Billy Penn at WHYY<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe movie version is far more me and the musical version is far more my brother,\u201d Holbrook told the outlet in 2023. \u201cHe\u2019s a show tunes fan, very flamboyant, very funny, and literally can drop a show tune lyric into any conversation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s almost like my superpower,\u201d he said of the character. \u201cI may not have had a huge impact on the world, but this character has definitely made an impression. He\u2019s been embraced by people.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHow the Secret Finally Came Out<\/h2>\n
Who Was Ultimately Cast as Damian In \u2018Mean Girls\u2019<\/h2>\n
The Real Person Behind Damian From \u2018Mean Girls\u2019<\/h2>\n