How an Original Mean Girls Star Fought Her Way Into the Movie
Mean Girls may be endlessly quotable, but its sharpest outsider had to claw her way in—Lizzy Caplan reveals she fought hard to land Janis Ian in the 2004 cult classic.
Turns out landing Janis Ian in 2004's Mean Girls was not a layup for Lizzy Caplan. She says she clawed her way into the role that ended up changing her career, and some of the hurdles were... unexpected.
On Penn Badgley's podcast 'Podcrushed,' Caplan walked through how brutally she chased the part. She lit up the second she read the script and went after it like her job depended on it, because honestly, it kind of did.
'It was just the funniest script I had ever read. I wanted to be in it so bad. I fought so hard, and then it worked out.'
Even so, the team behind the movie did not immediately see her as Janis. The process was oddly structured: everyone first read for Cady Heron or Regina George, and only later did casting start funneling people into other roles for callbacks. Caplan kept running into walls.
And here is the twist that will make longtime fans blink: the studio had another well-known name in mind for Janis. According to Caplan, they wanted Kelly Osbourne.
So she got crafty. With help from a hairstylist from Canada, Caplan headed down to Hollywood Boulevard, tried on dark wigs, piled on heavy makeup, and snapped proof-of-concept photos to sell the Janis vibe. The idea was simple: if the studio could see her as a goth-y outsider, they might finally buy it.
- Early reads: Everyone auditioned as Cady or Regina first
- Callbacks: Actors were then split off and redirected to other roles
- Studio roadblock: Kelly Osbourne was reportedly their pick for Janis
- Fix: Caplan assembled a full Janis look with a Canadian hairstylist, dark wigs, and heavy makeup, and sent screen grabs
- The call: She remembers exactly where she was when she learned she got it — one of those rare, pure celebration moments in an actor's career
That phone call led to the version of Janis that fans still quote, meme, and love. Mean Girls became Caplan's big break, and her sharp, outsider energy in that role is a huge reason the 2004 teen comedy still hits the way it does.