Meryl Streep is one of the most legendary star performers in Hollywood whose star power is so incredible that her presence helps boost the value of any project she is involved with. She is a once-in-a-generation magnetic actress who has showcased her multiple skills on the silver screen and charmed millions of fans with her charismatic on-screen presence.
Streep often leaves the audience spellbound with her dramatic and powerful performances, for she demonstrates her movie characters with confidence, charm, wit, and flawlessness. The undaunted actress has proved her versatility as an artist by starring in genre-busting projects.
However, like an actor, the 74-year-old star has endured many obstacles at the beginning of her career. She once revealed at age 26 that an award-winning producer, Dino De Laurentiis, deemed her too ugly for a role in his 1976 American monster adventure film King Kong.
Meryl Streep Reveals Her Experience Auditioning For King Kong
Meryl Streep is perhaps the most stunning actress whose talents extend beyond acting and whose cinematic skills are unmatched. Streep has earned several top-level accolades, distinctions, and top-billing roles in her multi-decade reign as a top-notch star. The actress has been part of many award-winning, mind-bending, highly-rated, big-budgeted blockbuster movies, many of which have achieved iconic status in the industry.
Even at age 74, the celebrated actress shows no sign of slowing down and is still actively making head-turning debuts in intriguing television shows and movies. On The Graham Norton Show in 2015, the actress recalled one incident when she got rejected for a role because of her facial appearance.
The Little Women movie actress revealed that she went to audition for a role in the 1976 American monster adventure film King Kong and got rejected by legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis, who said to his son in Italian, “Why do you bring me this ugly thing.” Meryl Streep shared that his son had seen her earlier in one of her plays and thus asked her to audition for this movie,
“His son had seen me in a play, and so I went up to the top of the Gulf and Western building that like the 33rd floor, and he had this amazing office that looked all over Manhattan. He was back there, and I walked in, and his son was sitting there very excited that he brought in this new actress and the father said to his son in Italian because I understand ‘che brutta’ why you bring me this ugly thing.”
It’s hard to believe that an actress like Meryl Streep was deemed too ugly to star in the lucrative King Kong franchise movie.
Meryl Streep Gives a Savage Reply to Dino De Laurentiis, Who Called Her Too Ugly
Meryl Streep is easily one of the most recognizable actresses in the film industry who has built an impressive film catalog. During her candid conversation on the show, the actress recalled the savage response given to producer Dino De Laurentiis, who told his son in Italian that she was too ugly to appear in the film while Streep was sitting right in front of them.
The Yale graduate actress, who eventually understood Italian, was shocked and gave back to De Laurentiis, saying,
“So I said to him… I understand what you’re saying. I am sorry I am not beautiful enough to be in King Kong.”
Streep is a supremely talented actress who has starred in dozens of fascinating movies like Mamma Mia, The Devil Wears Prada, Little Women, Big Little Lies, and The Iron Lady.
King Kong (1976) is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: The Graham Norton Show