‘Almost Famous’ Star Was Meant to Play a Much Smaller Role

Kate Hudson recently revealed that she wasn’t originally cast as the iconic Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical 2000 film, Almost Famous. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Hudson shared that she was originally cast as Anita, William’s older sister, who would eventually be played by Zooey Deschanel, and told ET how she managed to convince Crowe to let her play Penny Lane. “Sarah Polley was supposed to play Penny Lane, and Brad Pitt was supposed to play Russell, and then, they fell through. And I was the only one cast,” she explained. “I was like, ‘Cameron, can I please audition for Penny Lane?’ And he didn’t really want it at first. … And then like, four auditions later, finally he called me, and he was like, ‘You wanna be Penny Lane?’ I was like, ‘Oh my god, Yes!’” Hudson won a Golden Globe for the role and also earned a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination. She said of playing Penny Lane, “All of this was magic for me, because it completely changed my life. It changed the whole trajectory of my career.”