Jenny Lewis was almost in Buffy and we'll have to live with the pain of it not happening
Jenny Lewis has been an indie icon for so long that it’s sometimes difficult to remember she started her career out as a child actor. She’s most recognizable as an actor for playing Shelley Long’s daughter in Troop Beverly Hills, but she also had starring roles in The Wizard and in maligned queer teen drama, Foxfire, in which she shared plenty of screen time with Angelina Jolie and got to sing onscreen. When Handmaid’s Tale star Ever Carradine tweeted out “Actors: What is a show or movie you came extremely close to getting that no one would ever believe? I’ll go first: I tested for Grace on Will And Grace three or four times,” Lewis shared all the huge films and TV shows she was almost joined.
Lewis hasn’t confirmed which characters she specifically screen tested for yet—except for The Big Lebowski, where she was considered for Bunny Lebowski. The gig ultimately went to Tara Reid. But many of the films Lewis mentioned are ensemble ones, so it’s tough to tell who she would’ve played. We could easily see her being either girl-next-door Simone or quiet hippie Michelle in Dazed And Confused. We also wouldn’t be surprised if she’d also been considered for the role of Gina in Empire Records— which gave Renée Zellweger one of her first major feature breaks.
As for Buffy, the possibilities are endless, though a superfan tweeted that Lewis mentioned she was considered to play Veruca, the singer/werewolf Oz had a complicated thing with. And let’s be honest: Lewis would’ve made a great Donna on That ‘70s Show, even though Laura Prepon made the character so relatable that it’s difficult to imagine anyone else playing Donna. The one we’re absolutely can’t imagining Lewis starring in is Clueless. Would she have been snobby redhead Amber or quirky new kid Tai? She’s definitely not a Cher. C’mon Jenny, don’t leave us hanging! Spill who you almost played!