Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images; GIOVANNI RUFINO/THE CW
Nina Dobrevalmost became part of theGossip Girluniverse with her very own spin-off.
TheVampire Diariesstar, 33, was passed over for the role of a teenage Lily Rhodes (a.k.a. Lily van der Woodsen/Bass/Humphrey) in a potential spin-off entitledValley Girls"just because she didn’t look likeKelly Rutherford," the show’s casting director David Rapaport told Dobrev’s pal andGGalumJessica Szohron Wednesday’s episode of herXOXOpodcast.
“You know who did the best read for that? I’ll tell you, because I think you’re friends with Nina Dobrev,” Rapaport said. “That was one of the best auditions I had ever seen, and for that role specifically.”
He even sawDakota JohnsonandRooney Marafor the part, but Rapaport vouched for Dobrev, telling the network: " ‘She is a super star, [but] she does not look like Kelly Rutherford…’ because she was supposed to be a young Kelly Rutherford. ‘So I don’t know how we would cast her, but she needs to be on your radar and you guys need to find something for her.’ "
Michael Desmond/THE CW
“I just remember thinking, ‘I am going to think about this girl in a couple of years and be like, ‘Oh god, I missed that opportunity.’ She was so incredible!” Rapaport added.
AlthoughValley Girlsnever happened,Brittany Snowwasultimately castin the role for a backdoorepisodeofGossip Girl, which aired toward the end of season 2 in 2009. She played a young Lily Rhodes, who runs away to 1980s Los Angeles to live with her rebellious older sister Carol (Krysten Ritter), after getting kicked out of boarding school.
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Dobrev had a pretty decent fallback, landing the lead role inThe Vampire Diaries, which ran for eight seasons on the CW from 2009 to 2017.
source: people.com
