21 Actors Who Almost Played Donna, Sophie and Sky in 'Mamma Mia!'
Mamma Mia! starred Meryl Steep, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper, among others
The 2008 film attracted a number of Hollywood stars for auditions, including Emily Blunt and Amy Adams
The movie musical hit Netflix on July 16It's difficult to think of anyone other than Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper in the parts of Mamma Mia!'s Donna Sheridan, Sophie Sheridan and Sky Rymand — however, a number of actors wanted the roles.
2008's Mamma Mia! — which hit Netflix on July 16 — follows Sophie's (Seyfried) wedding to fiancé Sky (Cooper) at her mom Donna's (Streep) Greek hotel. However, unbeknownst to Donna, Sophie has invited three of her mother's former flames — Harry (Colin Firth), Bill (Stellan Skårsgard) and Sam (Pierce Brosnan) — to determine which one of them is her biological father.
The film — which is based on the Broadway musical of the same name — spawned a 2018 sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. In August 2024, Christine Baranski, who played Tanya, revealed that a third movie is in the works.
Streep, who was a fan of the Broadway musical, was a shoe-in for the part of Donna. 'You don't ask Meryl Streep to audition,' producer Judy Craymer told Vogue in a September 2023 Mamma Mia! oral history. 'Universal made a bit of a fuss because we didn't go over their list of ideas first, to which I said, 'Sorry, but there is no list—we got Meryl f------ Streep!' "
While many actresses auditioned for the role of Sophie, Seyfried ultimately captured the team's attention with her rendition of ABBA's 'I Have a Dream,' U.S. casting director Ellen Lewis told Vogue.
Meanwhile, U.K. casting director Priscilla John "fought" for Cooper to play Sky. "The studio said they thought he wasn't fun enough,' she told Vogue. 'They saw him as a bad boy and seemed to want someone a bit more saccharine."
So, who else was in the running to play the roles of Donna, Sophie and Sky? Here are 21 actors who nearly starred in Mamma Mia!.
Donna
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman was on the list of backups if Streep declined the role of Donna.
'We were asked by Universal to prepare a list on the off chance that Meryl didn't wanna do it," director Phyllida Lloyd told Vogue.
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John's previous musical experience with Grease also made her a strong contender for Donna.
'It was more likely that someone like Nicole Kidman or Olivia Newton-John might say yes, because they had a prior history of singing on-screen,' Lloyd told Vogue.
Michelle Pfeiffer
While the team talked about auditioning Michelle Pfeiffer for the role of Sophie's mother, the Grease 2 star never officially threw her hat in the ring, Lewis told Vogue.
'I don't believe there were any actual conversations with her team,' she said. 'It never got further than an internal discussion between the filmmakers and the studio.'
Craymer added, "There were a lot of names on our list, but Meryl was the only person who [Lloyd] and I wanted."
Sophie
Emily Blunt
The Devil Wears Prada stars Streep and Emily Blunt could have had an on-screen reunion in Greece. John told Vogue that Blunt was invited to audition, but turned it down.
'Emily Blunt passed because she had moved to Los Angeles and was doing quite well at the time,' she explained.
Years later in 2018, the Mary Poppins Returns actress had the chance to sing some ABBA while appearing on James Corden's The Late Late Show. Blunt belted out the band's 'Dancing Queen' in a feather boa alongside Corden and Lin-Manuel Miranda as part of a 12-minute musical montage, per The Hollywood Reporter.
Michelle Dockery
Downton Abbey star Michelle Dockery was a close second to Seyfried for casting directors.
'We loved Michelle Dockery, and she could sing because she did all sorts of musicals in drama school,' John told Vogue.
Ultimately, Dockery took herself out of the running for Sophie. 'She chose to do a play at the Almeida Theatre instead,' John added.
Carey Mulligan
Seyfried had some serious competition in Carey Mulligan, according to John, who had recently cast Mulligan in 2007's And When Did You Last See Your Father?.
'She got quite far before we ultimately chose Amanda, who could not only sing but also looked so much like Meryl,' John told Vogue.
Mulligan got her chance to play the part more than a decade later, when she was cast as Sophie in a 2019 spoof of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again for Red Nose Day.
Natalie Dormer
Game of Thrones' Natalie Dormer's busy schedule prevented her from taking on the role of Sophie.
'We adored ... Natalie Dormer,' John told Vogue. 'But she was filming The Tudors at the time and not available.'
Gemma Arterton
Although Mammia Mia! casting directors called The King's Man star Gemma Arterton 'a very strong soprano,' she didn't quite fit the visual they were going for in Donna's daughter.
'She looked nothing like Meryl,' John told Vogue.
In 2019, Arterton teamed up with Mulligan for her Red Nose Day Mamma Mia sequel spoof, playing young Donna instead.
Amy Adams
Amy Adams — who went on to star with Streep in 2008's Doubt and 2009's Julie & Julia — was among the list of Hollywood legends whom Lewis recalled seeing audition for Sophie in Los Angeles.
"Thankfully, I didn't really know anything about those A-list girls at the time," music director Martin Lowe told Vogue. "I've subsequently looked back at my lists of people we saw and been shocked to discover some of the people that I apparently met."
Zooey Deschanel
She & Him singer Zooey Deschanel was one of the few musicians who tried out for the role of Sophie.
'I don't remember that many actual singers auditioning,' Lewis told Vogue.
Felicity Jones
According to John, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story alum Felicity Jones sold her vocal abilities short during her audition.
'Felicity Jones was adorable but kept telling me she wasn't right for the part because she couldn't sing—even though she could,' John told Vogue.
Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood, who's known for her singing roles in projects like Across the Universe and Frozen 2, also tried out for the role of Sophie, Lewis revealed to Vogue.
The Westworld actress later joined forces with Seyfried to workshop a musical adaptation of Thelma & Louise. The musical has been in the works since at least 2021, per Variety.
Leighton Meester
Gossip Girl actress Leighton Meester also auditioned for the part of Sophie, Lewis told Vogue.
Meester went on to show off her vocal talents in Cobra Starship's 2009 song "Good Girls Go Bad" and as Chiles Stanton in 2010's Country Strong opposite Gwyneth Paltrow.
Mandy Moore
Mandy Moore had a vote of confidence for her Mamma Mia! audition from former costar Chris Klein, who acted alongside her in American Dreams.
'You guys had Mandy Moore in here?' Klein asked in his own leaked audition tape. 'She is an angel of all angels ... she is just a dream come true. You should hire her on the spot.'
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst was yet another name on Lewis' list of notable actresses who went out for the part of Sophie in L.A.
Dunst got the opportunity to sing in 2007's Spider-Man 3, telling reporters at the film's premiere, 'It was fun. I got to pre-record it so it wasn't so nerve-wracking. I didn't have to sing in front of our entire crew."
When asked if she'd like to pursue a musical career, Dunst said, "Definitely not. I'll sing in movies."
Sky
Sam Heughan
According to John, 'All sorts of names came in for Sky,' among them Outlander's Sam Heughan. But unfortunately, his audition was one of his "worst" acting experiences, he told Backstage in September 2020.
'I was working with Will Young, this British musician, and he helped me with the song. He was, like, 'This is really high, I'll transfer it down an octave.' So I felt reasonably comfortable with it," he recalled. "I went in and I gave it to the piano player and I was, like, 'I'm just gonna put this down an octave.' And he was, like, 'No you're not. I'm the musical supervisor, you're going to do it like this.' It was like strangling a cat, singing for Mamma Mia!'
Henry Cavill
John told Vogue that English actor Henry Cavill was on the list of front-runners for the part of Sky, but it didn't work out due to scheduling.
'We were interested ... but he was in The Tudors at the time and unavailable,' she shared.
Joe Anderson
Cooper's part of Sky might have gone to The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 alum Joe Anderson.
"He had just done a musical [2007's Across the Universe] and his audition was fabulous," John told Vogue.
James McAvoy
Atonement star James McAvoy was also approached by the casting directors for the part of Sky.
'We went out to James McAvoy and Tom Hardy but they were both unavailable,' John told Vogue.
Tom Hardy
Tom Hardy was also 'unavailable' for the role of Sky, according to John.
Chris Klein
The American Pie actor also auditioned for the role of Sky — and his audition tape later went viral, racking up over 500,000 views.
"It's a horrible audition,' Klein told Huffpost in March 2012. 'I took a chance — I can't sing! I don't know why I was in there. But I took a chance! It's a musical — let's see if I can give it a shot.'
'It was really a dreadful audition," he added.
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