How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was one of the defining films in the rom-com genre in the early 2000s. Starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, the film was a moderate commercial success, while receiving mixed reviews from critics.
However, as iconic as Kate Hudson was in the role of Andie Anderson, the role was set to feature a completely different actress, one who would go on to become a major part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in its early days. Before the role was given to Kate Hudson, Andie Anderson could have been played by Gwyneth Paltrow.
Gwyneth Paltrow had to drop out of the project due to some conflict
In Vanity Fair‘s Oral History of How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days, Lynda Obst and Burr Steers (the producer and co-writer respectively), revealed exactly how Paltrow got attached to the project. Obst said:
There was an agent at CAA who actually represented Gwyneth Paltrow at the time—his name is David Lonner—and we were having a fun lunch, and he said, “Oh, you would love this project that Gwyneth is thinking of getting involved with. It’s at Paramount and there’s no script yet.” I was like, “Oh, well, I’m at Paramount, and I like Gwyneth.” So then I called my studio and I said, “There’s something called this, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It really sounds fun.”
However, despite Gwyneth Paltrow being attached to the project initially, she had to back out of the project thanks to some undisclosed reason, as revealed by Burr Steers.
It has not been made clear yet as to why she had to quit the project, but the bottom line was that she would no longer be able to star in it. He said:
Initially Gwyneth was attached to it, and then at some point, she must have had a conflict and had to pull out.
The film would, of course, go on to feature Kate Hudson as its chief protagonist, with Matthew McConaughey serving as the male lead for the story. However, Kate Hudson coming into her role was also somewhat similar to how Paltrow achieved being attached to the project, i.e. the creators behind the film saw Hudson in another project and decided she was right for the job.
Almost Famous helped Kate Hudson secure the role of Andie Anderson
Kate Hudson was on Lynda Obst’s mind, who took it to former Paramount president, Sherry Lansing. It turned out that both creators were keenly obsessing about the actress, right after she had appeared in Almost Famous, which led to the duo setting on the actress for the role of Andie Anderson in the film:
At some point, [former Paramount president] Sherry Lansing and I, were both madly in love with [Kate Hudson]. It’s clearly after Almost Famous. I just remember, we turned to each other like, “This has to be Kate. She’s hilarious.” And so Kate got attached.
Hudson would go on to leave her mark on the rom-com genre, with ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days‘ becoming a cult film that is still the comfort watch for more than a few people who came of age in the early 2000s.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days can be streamed on Prime Video and Paramount +.
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