1.
First, in Parks and Recreation, the role of April Ludgate didn’t exist before Aubrey Plaza came in to audition. Allison Jones, who cast the show, called creator Michael Shur and said, “I just met the weirdest girl I’ve ever met in my life. You have to meet her and put her on your show.” April was then written for Aubrey.
2.
In Bottoms, the role of Josie was written specifically for Ayo Edebiri by writers Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott. However, Ayo recalled being asked to audition. She said, “I’m still slightly salty about it. I don’t know who made me audition, but I passed.”
3.
In Barbie, even before Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig approached Ryan Gosling about playing Ken, Greta wrote the role for him. She even wrote “Ken (Ryan Gosling)” in the script. Greta recalled, “I thought I was writing it for Ryan Gosling, even though I don’t know Ryan and have never met him, but I imagined him in it.”
4.
In Euphoria, creator Sam Levinson wrote Ali for Colman Domingo. Colman said he feels “incredibly blessed” because Ali has been a dream role. His work on the show earned him a 2022 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
5.
In The Holiday, writer and director Nancy Meyers revealed she wrote the role of Iris with Kate Winslet in mind. At the time, Kate told Nancy that having a part written for her had never happened before.
6.
In Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Stephanie Beatriz originally auditioned for the role of Amy Santiago but was then asked to return for the role of Megan. Eventually, Megan turned into Rosa Diaz thanks to what Stephanie brought to the role. In particular, Rosa’s coming out storyline was mainly inspired by Stephanie’s own coming out journey.
7.
In The Shape of Water, writer and director Guillermo del Toro wrote the role of Elisa with Sally Hawkins in mind. He was so determined to have her star in the movie that while drunk at a Golden Globes afterparty in 2013, he spotted Sally and ran right up to her. Guillermo recalled, “It’s the first time I see her. I say, ‘Sally — Guillermo.’ I hugged her. And I said, ‘I’m writing a movie for you where you fall in love with a fish-man!'”
8.
In Gilmore Girls, after initially auditioning for Rory Gilmore, Liza Weil had the role of Paris Geller created for her after the casting directors and creator Amy Sherman-Palladino loved her so much.
9.
In Fleabag, while creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge knew she wanted to explore religion “very, very early on,” the priest character became who he was after she “imagined Andrew Scott in that role.” By writing the “Hot” Priest for Andrew, Phoebe was able to make “this man complex and three-dimensional, and sort of a match for Fleabag.”
10.
In The Last Song, author Nicholas Sparks was beginning to work on a new story when he heard Miley Cyrus loved A Walk to Remember, and Disney producers were looking for a story in a similar vein for her to star in. While Nicholas had an idea for The Last Song previously, Miley’s interest prompted him to focus “more intently on it” and create the character of Ronnie with her in mind.
11.
In Anatomy of a Fall, director and cowriter Justine Triet wrote the leading role for Sandra Hüller, with whom she had previously worked with. She even named the character Sandra, hoping to convince the real Sandra to say yes to the movie. The role ultimately earned Sandra an Academy Award nomination.
12.
In Pulp Fiction, writer and director Quentin Tarantino created the role of Jules Winnfield for Samuel L. Jackson. After Samuel auditioned for Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino remembered him and said he was writing something for him. His work earned him an Academy Award nomination in 1995.
13.
In The Walking Dead, Norman Reedus was so in love with the original pilot script he came in and read for Merle Dixon, even though the role had already been cast. Creator Frank Darabont reportedly loved Norman so much that he created the character of Daryl Dixon, who doesn’t exist in Robert Kirkman’s original comics.
14.
In Bridesmaids, Brynn reportedly didn’t exist in the original script until Rebel Wilson came in and auditioned for Melissa McCarthy’s character. While she didn’t get that role, they added her in as Brynn. Rebel said, “There was never supposed to be two roommates, only one.”
15.
And finally, in Frasier, the original concept for the series did not include Frasier Crane having a brother. However, casting assistant Sheila Guthrie came across David Hyde Pierce’s headshot and clips of The Powers That Be and suggested it to the creators. They looked at the footage and “fell in love with him.” Thus, the character of Niles was created.