Uncut Gems' producers weren't thrilled that Julia Fox was Josh Safdie's muse

According to Julia Fox’s new memoir, we almost didn’t get the mispronunciation heard ‘round the world, much less the star-making performance in Uncut Gems that made the former dominatrix an overnight sensation.

In the book, titled Down The Drain (via People), Fox said that producers on the Adam Sandler vehicle were initially skeptical of her since she was such an unknown, despite the fact that co-writer Josh Safdie had been telling her for five years that she was perfect for the role (as anyone with an internet connection probably knows by now). Instead, the studio was reportedly pushing for “someone with a big name, like Lady Gaga or Jennifer Lawrence.” When Fox aced her screen test and finally landed the role, she said it felt like winning the lottery.

Despite the odds against her, however, Fox knew that “there was just no way someone could play that part better than me,” as she told Interview Magazine in 2019. “I’ve crossed paths with so many different people from all walks of life,” she went on. “Any situation you put me in, I can manage. From the Ritz to the trap house, I’ll find some sort of common ground with anyone.” The fictional character, also named Julia, is “a young girl from New York City, and she’s been on her own her whole life… although we are very different, I’ve been there. I’ve been that girl.”

This much is apparent from the rest of Fox’s memoir, in which she goes into detail on her brief relationship with Kanye West (who she says “weaponized” her as “his little puppet”) and her early experience with sex, drugs, and shoplifting (she said tried marijuana for the first time at age 11, stole clothes with her best friend at 12 to “appear richer,” and lost her virginity at 14 to a 23-year-old who would drive her to abandoned churches to have sex). She also discusses her brief tenure as a dominatrix and her experience giving birth to and raising her now two-year-old son, Valentino.