It would be hard to picture anyone in the early 2000s joining the iconic cast of Mean Girls. I’m still in disbelief that Lindsay Lohan almost took on the queen bee role of Regina George instead of new girl Cady Heron. While we know Amanda Seyfried, like, invented the role of Karen Smith, Ashley Tisdale auditioned for that same role ad-libbing a line that actually made it to the final cut of the OG film. However, wait until you find out who else auditioned with Tisdale for the same part.
Karen, played by Seyfried, was a member of The Plastics and described as “the dumbest girl you will ever meet.” Before Mean Girls became one of Seyfried’s best movies, there were other actresses in the running, like Ashley Tisdale. On Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, the High School Musical alum spoke about her audition process. Prepare to be shaken up when you find out who else auditioned for one of Regina George’s “little helpers.”
Ashley Tisdale remembers screen testing for the original Mean Girls movie with Blake Lively and says one of her screen testing adlibs made the film! #WWHL pic.twitter.com/tmL40E6c8UMarch 6, 2024
I can’t believe Blake Lively auditioned for Karen Smith. If anything, I could picture her more as Regina George with her long blonde hair and tall stature. But, it’s all good, as Lively got to be part of the cast of Gossip Girl three years later playing Serena van der Woodsen, the “it girl of Manhattan.” So the American actress still found a way to rule high school through another popular project.
The only thing I’m still stumped about with Ashley Tisdale’s story is what line she was talking about that made it into the final cut. There are so many hilarious lines that Karen says from the OG film that’s hard to pick from. Did Tisdale come up with “It’s like I have ESPN or something” or “I’m a mouse, duh!”? Whichever the former Disney Channel star came up with, now we know we have her to thank for one of Karen Smith’s catchy quotes.
It’s also important not to feel too bad that Ashley Tisdale didn’t get to be one of The Plastics. Like Blake Lively, she found her own way to rule high school as well in one of the most nostalgic DCOMs, High School Musical. The Suite Life of Zack and Cody actress played Sharpay Evans, who took over the drama department with her twin brother and made it their mission to star in every high school production. She certainly brought Mean Girls vibes to the role making it very hard to mess with her.
Ultimately, the role of Karen Smith went to Amanda Seyfried, but the crew of Mean Girls ought to credit Ashley Tisdale for giving them one of her ad-libbed lines that made it into the original film. At least Tisdale and Blake Lively went on to be “It Girls” in other popular teen productions. The character of Karen Smith lives on in the original and musical remake of Mean Girls, which are both available with your Paramount+ subscription.
