What is Meryl Streep’s most well-known performance? Kramer vs. Kramer as Joanna? In Sophie’s Choice as the desperate mother? It could be Miranda Priestley from The Devil Wears Prada, but we think it’s Miranda Priestley from The Devil Wears Prada! You can disagree if you want, but you should know that this one performance drained her completely. In fact, Streep’s performance as Priestley was so bad that she decided to change her entire career path. Who’d have guessed?
Ever Since The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep Was Never The Same Again
Rare Role For Her
Miranda Priestly is one of Streep’s rare antihero roles. While she’s a fascinating – and sometimes hilarious – character to watch, you don’t want to run into her. Remember how she makes Andy’s life a living hell for the duration of the film? She, too, has a real-life role model.
Rare Role For Her
Taking The Character In A Different Direction
Yes, the real Priestley is Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who is said to be one of the most powerful women in fashion. Lauren Weisberger was inspired by her previous experiences working as Wintour’s assistant when she wrote the book on which the film is based. Streep, on the other hand, took the character in a completely different direction.
Taking The Character In A Different Direction
A Different Take
Streep spilled the beans during an Entertainment Weekly cast reunion in 2021. She recalled, “I wasn’t interested in doing a biopic on Anna. I was interested in her position in her company. I wanted to take on the burdens she had to carry, along with having to look nice every day.”
A Different Take
A Terrifying Role
Oh, and the filmmakers were also concerned about provoking Wintour’s wrath. People in the editor’s circle backed away from The Devil Wears Prada as soon as word of the plot got out. Aline Brosh McKenna, a screenwriter, told Entertainment Weekly, “I had enormous trouble finding anyone in the fashion world who’d talk to me. [That’s] because people were afraid of Anna and Vogue – not wanting to be blackballed.”
A Terrifying Role
Too Nice
She continued, “There was one person who spoke to me, whose name I will never divulge, who read it and said, ‘The people in this movie are too nice. No one in that world is too nice. They don’t have to be, and they don’t have time to be.’ After that, I did a pass to make everyone a bit busier and meaner.”
Too Nice
Everyone’s Scared Of Her
The word that came to mind was “meaner.” In the 2000 BBC documentary Boss Woman, writer Plum Sykes said of Wintour, “I’m scared of her. Everyone’s scared of her. She’s an intimidating person because she is so incredible.” She added, “Anna would never specify how you need to look, but I know that if I went into her office I would need to wear high heels and look groomed and look ‘fashion.’”
Everyone’s Scared Of Her
Everyone Wanted To Please Her
For the reunion, model Gisele Bündchen, who played Serena in the film, told Entertainment Weekly, “You just knew the people that worked at Vogue were dedicated and professional. Anna was the final word, and everyone wanted to please her…but that’s true for everything. Who doesn’t want to please their boss?” That could have been the film’s tagline.
Everyone Wanted To Please Her
She Wasn’t Offended
However, according to Anna Wintour, the film did not offend her when it was first released. In 2006, the fearsome editor told ABC News, “Anything that makes fashion entertaining and glamorous and interesting is wonderful for our industry. So I was 100 percent behind it.”
She Wasn’t Offended
She Watched The Screening
In May 2006, Wintour attended a screening of the film. According to McKenna, who spoke to Entertainment Weekly, “Anna came to the first screening in New York. She sat right in front of me and David [Frankel] with her daughter and wore Prada, which shows she has a great sense of humor!”
She Watched The Screening
She Liked Streep’s Portrayal
Streep’s portrayal of the character based on her was fine with Wintour. She stated to ABC News, “I think it’s actually helpful to people that you are working with, that you can make decisions. So, if Meryl seemed somewhat strong, I respect that.” But what did Streep think about it?
She Liked Streep’s Portrayal
Interesting Take
In the Entertainment Weekly cast reunion article, Streep had a lot to say. Miranda Priestley was an unpleasant, if fascinating, person, and she had some interesting thoughts about her. She pondered, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely…. I liked that there wasn’t any backing away from the horrible parts of her.”
Interesting Take
She Helped Out Anne Hathaway
Streep, it turns out, was instrumental in Anne Hathaway’s casting as Andy, the beleaguered assistant. Hathaway was desperate for the part, but the studio was unsure. Hathaway was known for more kid-friendly fare, which they didn’t want. Rachel McAdams was offered the part three times, but she declined each time.
She Helped Out Anne Hathaway
She Was Great
According to director David Frankel, who spoke to Entertainment Weekly, “Brokeback Mountain was about to come out. Annie had a wonderful, small role in that. And Meryl watched that scene from the movie, she met with her and called up Tom Rothman at Fox and said, ‘Yeah, this girl’s great, and I think we’ll work well together.’”
She Was Great
Overjoyed
When Hathaway was cast in the role, she was ecstatic. She told the publication, “I remember the moment I found out I got the part, I just ran screaming through my apartment. I had a bunch of friends over at the time, I just jumped up in the living room and screamed, ‘I’m going to be in The Devil Wears Prada!’” And of course, she had her co-star to thank.
Overjoyed
White Hair
Streep also persuaded the studio to allow Miranda Priestley to have white hair. Patricia Field, the costume designer, told Entertainment Weekly, “Meryl told me she [wanted] to have white hair.… I said to Meryl, ‘I can’t convince [the producers]. They have in their mind that white hair is gray hair.’”
White Hair
‘It’s Going To Be Great’
Elizabeth Gabler, the former president of Fox 2000, told the magazine, “Meryl and J. Roy Helland, who’s been at her side through so much of her career, came up with the look, which we weren’t expecting. She just said ‘My girls, don’t you worry, this is what I’m going to do and it’s going to be great.’”
‘It’s Going To Be Great’
Method Acting
David Frankel shared, “The first time Meryl was Miranda Priestly was a meeting with the head of the studio. Meryl channeled Miranda in that meeting, and there was no conversation about the hair; they looked into Meryl’s eyes and never said a word.” Streep was method acting.
Method Acting
Always Remained In Character
Streep also did method acting throughout the film. Even when the cameras weren’t rolling, she stayed in character as Miranda Priestley. Because that’s what her character does to their characters, she kept her co-stars Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway at a distance, even being cold to them at times.
Always Remained In Character
Not The Most Fun
Entertainment Weekly quoted Blunt as saying, “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.”
Not The Most Fun
Full Of Praise
Similar thoughts ran through Hathaway’s mind, but she was full of praise for Streep. She told the publication, “I did feel intimidated, but I always felt cared for. I knew that whatever she was doing to create that fear, I appreciated [because] I also knew she was watching out for me.”
Full Of Praise
Bringing More Out Of Her
Miranda tells Andy she’s “disappointing” in a scene that Hathaway recalled, “When the camera turned on me, the pressure really got to me, and I’d had such emotional fluidity up to that point, but it just wasn’t there anymore. I remember having the experience of watching [her] watch me, and [she] altered [her] performance ever so slightly, and just made it a little bit different, and brought more out of me.”
Bringing More Out Of Her
Talking About Her Performance
The cast reunion with Entertainment Weekly wasn’t the first time Hathaway talked about her time working with Streep on The Devil Wears Prada. Because she appeared on The Graham Norton Show in 2014 and discussed how she and her method-acting co-star got along back in the day.
Talking About Her Performance
Last Time She Saw ‘Meryl’
Hathaway recalled, “When I met [Streep] she gave me a huge hug. [A]and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, we are going to have the best time on this movie.’ And then she’s like, ‘Ah sweetie, that’s the last time I’m nice to you.’ She then went into her trailer and came out the ice queen and that was really the last I saw of ‘Meryl’ for months, until we promoted the film.”
Last Time She Saw ‘Meryl’
Terrified Of Streep
For a time, Hathaway was terrified of Streep. In 2018, she told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, “There’s a scene where Andy and Miranda are getting out of a car… Now, Meryl was kind of an island unto herself when we filmed this, so I didn’t get to talk to her too much. But I was going to get a whole scene to sit in a car with her. And I was just freaking out.”
Terrified Of Streep
Impressing Her
Hathaway continued, “And you have to understand, like talking can be hard for me… And so but, I was like, ‘I’m going to take advantage of this moment. I’m going to force myself to speak to Meryl Streep.’ But I couldn’t just talk to her. I couldn’t just be a person. I had to impress her.”
Impressing Her
Trying To Talk To Streep
The younger actress recalled throwing several conversation starters at Streep, none of which worked. She explained, “And if you have anxiety, and you force yourself to talk to someone, being met with silence is like being thrown into a demonic pit. It’s so bad.” She eventually tried to bring up Jon Stewart.
Trying To Talk To Streep
She Finally Responded
Hathaway is said to have asked Streep, “By any chance did you see the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night? I think that he is just so brilliant. I think he is saving America.” After that, Hathaway said, she sat “in the silence thinking my life was over.” However, in a turn of events, Streep replied by saying, “No, I don’t think Jon Stewart is going to save America. I think Stephen Colbert is.” Obviously, Colbert loved that.
She Finally Responded
She Didn’t Like How She Acted
Streep, on the other hand, was dissatisfied with her behavior on the Prada set. In no way, shape, or form. According to Entertainment Weekly, “It was horrible! 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!”
She Didn’t Like How She Acted
A Different Approach
Since then, Streep has become less interested in method acting. She now appears to limit herself to methods that only affect her and not her co-stars. She spent six months learning how to play the guitar properly for the 2015 film Ricki and the Flash, for example, all for the sake of authenticity.
A Different Approach
Going All Out
In addition, Meryl Streep, in true Meryl Streep fashion, went all out. She was so determined to portray a rock star convincingly that she went through some physical discomfort. Streep approached director Jonathan Demme one day and told him that she had played so hard that her fingers were bleeding.
Going All Out
In Danger
But Streep has also been on the receiving end of people’s method acting, and knowing the details makes it even less surprising that she gave it up. Consider what happened in 1994 while she was filming The River Wild: she came perilously close to being killed. Yikes!
In Danger
Exhausted
Because the director insisted on a stunt that Streep was too tired to do. So Streep boarded a raft and paddled down the river, but the boat flipped over and nearly drowned her. She informed the Orlando Sentinel newspaper in 1994 when she was released, and she told the director, “I really feel quite sure if I say that I’m too tired to do something that we have to assume I’m telling the truth.”
Exhausted
Pushing Her Over The Edge
Then there was the incident that occurred on the set of one of her previous films. Streep’s co-star Dustin Hoffman used the technique to painfully push her over the edge in the 1979 film Kramer vs. Kramer. Over the years, more information about what happened has become available.
Pushing Her Over The Edge
Taking It Too Far
In one of the film’s early scenes, Hoffman and Streep’s characters were supposed to be arguing. Hoffman, on the other hand, is said to have gone too far and slapped Streep in the face, leaving a red mark. According to Vanity Fair writer Michael Schulman, she could have reported it because it was serious enough, but she didn’t.
Taking It Too Far
Bringing Up Her Boyfriend
Hoffman allegedly brought up Streep’s boyfriend, John Cazale, who had recently passed away, as if that wasn’t bad enough. He did this, it seems, to unnerve her and make her angry in the way her character should be. He allegedly whispered Cazale’s name in Streep’s ear before the film’s famous courtroom scene.
Bringing Up Her Boyfriend
Pleasant Off-Camera
Of course, this is a far cry from Streep’s method acting on the set of The Devil Wears Prada. Despite her distance from her co-stars, they understood why she was acting the way she was, and none of them objected to her actions. In fact, some stories focus on her off-camera kindness and pleasantness.
Pleasant Off Camera
A Lovely Person
In 2018, Emily Blunt said on the show Sunday Today, “There was this crazy moment when I [finished] and I remember seeing [Streep] across the parking lot. She burst out of her trailer – the wig was off. She was just Meryl. She was in a puffy jacket. She was like, ‘You were so great,’ and I was just like [crying] and I just started to weep. It was sad.”
A Lovely Person
They’re Still Friends
And Hathaway and Streep are still friends, which should please Devil Wears Prada fans given their on-screen chemistry. The Kennedy Center honored Streep with a massive tribute show in 2011, and Hathaway led the cast of the film in a tribute called “She’s Me Pal.”
They’re Still Friends
What’s Next?
As a result, you might be wondering if there will ever be a sequel to The Devil Wears Prada. Streep, Hathaway, and Blunt have all stated that they believe the film works best as a standalone, but that they would like to work with the same cast again in the future. Even though Streep froze out her co-stars on this film, it just shows her incredible acting ability that she can change significantly depending on the role! She was quite different on the sets of the Mamma Mia! Films
What’s Next?
Mamma Mia!
Streep starred in musical romantic comedy Mamma Mia! in 2008 and the film was a huge success. Alongside Amanda Seyfried, the pair were praised for their exceptional acting and the ABBA songs used in the film were extremely popular. It’s amazing how Streep can go from playing a heartless boss in one film and play a doting mother trying to keep a business together and raise a daughter all at the same time. Her diversity is mightily impressive.
Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again!
Natural Singer
Not only is Streep a solid actor, but she is also a fantastic singer! Streep did all of her singing authentically in the film and took to the ABBA songs extremely well. This actually wasn’t the first time that Meryl was able to demonstrate her singing ability on the big screen.
Natural Singer
Other Singing Roles
Not only was Meryl impressive with her singing in Mamma Mia!, but she was also fantastic in other films such as The Prom, Postcards from the Edge and Into The Woods. Naturally, Den of Geek ranks “Mamma Mia” as Streep’s best on-screen performance, but the second is “I’m Checking Out” from Postcards Edge. This performance at the film was Meryl’s first major musical moment.
Other Singing Roles
She’s Checking Out
Streep’s first major musical moment was “I’m Checking Out” in popular drama-comedy Postcards from the Edge. Postcards from the Edge is a frank and occasionally caustic exercise in getting things off a writer’s chest, loosely and nakedly based on screenwriter Carrie Fisher’s personal relationship with her movie star mother Debbie Reynolds. Fisher also wanted to clarify the air about her mother’s intention to encourage her to pursue a career in music. While Fisher fought in her own life, she allowed Suzanne Vale (Streep) to succumb to her mother Doris Mann in the fictional Suzanne Vale (Streep) (Shirley MacLaine).
She’s Checking Out
Into The Woods
Streep starred as a witch seeking eternal youth in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s iconic musical, which included several solo performances. In the film, Meryl Streep sings “Stay With Me,” and her portrayal of The Witch won critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Streep’s renditions of the songs “Stay with Me” and “Last Midnight” were complimented by Susan Wloszczyna of RogerEbert.com, who described her performance as “practically everyone else in the dust and by design.”
Into The Woods
Ricki and the Flash
Ricki, an old rocker yearning to reunite with the adult children she abandoned, was played by Meryl Streep in this non-musical loaded with song. The finest part, in our opinion, was witnessing Meryl Streep jamming on an electric guitar with her crazy hair, blue eye shadow, and high-heeled Doc Martens.
Ricki And The Flash
The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter landed a 29-year-old Streep her first-ever Oscar nomination – and it was the first time we saw her sing on camera: During a tense dinner scene, she belts out “God Bless America.” This 1978 war drama received critical acclaim and centered around a trio of Russian-American steelworkers whose lives are forever different following fighting in the Vietnam War.
The Deer Hunter
Music of the Heart
Okay, so Streep doesn’t sing in this one, but she does play the violin, which she honed over the course of a month with daily six-hour practice sessions. She improved to the point that she could compete with orchestral veterans like Joshua Bell and Isaac Stern.
Music Of The Heart
Ironweed
Streep, who played Helen Archer, a washed-up radio singer, sang “She’s Me Pal” on stage in a half-imagined scenario at a bar in this Great Depression-era picture. Streep’s Devil Wears Prada co-star Anne Hathaway delivered a rendition of the song in her honor at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2011, titled “She’s Me Pal.”
Ironweed
Postcards from the Edge
We already touched up briefly on this film, the one that featured one of Meryl’s greatest ever on screen performances. In Postcards from the Edge, a film that she played the daughter of a Hollywood celebrity who overdoses and goes to rehab, Streep sang the original song “I’m Checking Out” as well as Ray Charles’ “You Don’t Know Me” with the band Blue Rodeo. She was supposed to perform “I’m Checking Out” at the Oscars, but she couldn’t since she was pregnant. Reba McEntire, on the other hand, took her position on the Academy Awards stage.
Postcards From The Edge
Death Becomes Her
In Death Becomes Her, Streep was a fiancée-stealing Broadway actress who opened the dark comedy with a leading-lady-worthy number. Death Becomes Her was a box office hit, collecting $149 million worldwide on a budget of $55 million. The film was a forerunner in the use of computer-generated effects, winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in the process. Death Becomes Her has established a considerable cult following in the decades after its debut, particularly within the LGBT community.
Death Becomes Her
A Prairie Home Companion
In A Prairie Home Companion, Streep performed a duet with another cinematic star, Lily Tomlin, on “My Minnesota Home,” which followed the final broadcast of a radio variety show in Minnesota.
A Prairie Home Companion
Florence Foster Jenkins
If you can’t wait till Mary Poppins Returns comes out in December 2018 to see Streep sing again, you’re in luck: The film Florence Foster Jenkins, in which
We just love seeing Meryl showcase her singing talents in film, and thankfully we got another opportunity to see this in action in Florence Foster Jenkins. Meryl Streep plays an aspiring (but untalented) opera singer and the film was released back in 2016. Expect nothing like the singing Streep is known for: Florence was notorious for being a terrible singer. Well, it’s still Meryl singing… we guess.
Florence Foster Jenkins
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!
Despite the fact Streep’s character died and she was given a reduced role for this film. Oliver Parker said this on deciding to kill off Donna and telling Meryl the news: “Meryl, she doesn’t do sequels and she wanted to be a part of [Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again]. She’s incredibly proud of [the first film]—she had a lovely time, all of those things, so she wanted to be in it, but she wanted it to be impactful.
Mamma Mia Here We Go Again!
Future Films?
Streep hasn’t been rumored to be featuring in any upcoming films, but she has been confirmed for future Apple TV+ anthology series Extrapolations. We can’t imagine the film will offer her much of an opportunity to sing, seeing as how it focuses on climate change, but we can hope that she will be cast in future singing roles in other projects!
Future Films?