How Project Hail Mary landed that brilliant Meryl Streep cameo

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The new book, Project Hail Mary, is getting rave reviews! Critics are especially praising Ryan Gosling’s charming performance, the book’s well-timed plot, and the unforgettable alien character, Rocky, who might just be the best character of the year.

James Ortiz provides the voice for the character in the movie, but Meryl Streep briefly lends her voice as a possible option for him at one point.

So, I was totally wondering how that actor from The Devil Wears Prada and Don’t Look Up ended up popping up in the movie! Turns out, the directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, finally spilled the beans to Entertainment Weekly about it.

While filming, we experimented with lots of funny voices ourselves. We even had crew members do voices just to get a laugh out of Ryan and give the characters something to respond to,” Miller explained. Lord added that they also tried to come up with voices that sounded like they could be created by text-to-speech programs.

“And then we [thought], wouldn’t it be fun to get Meryl Streep?” Miller continued.

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Ryan said she was capable of anything, which was exactly what we needed to hear. That meant it was time to reach out to Meryl Streep.

So, Amy Pascal, who was a producer on the film and had worked with her on movies like The Post, already had an existing relationship. We asked Amy to reach out—

Lord admitted they practiced asking the actress if she’d be interested in playing the role of a discarded alien voice – repeatedly in front of a mirror – before they finally felt brave enough to actually ask her.

Lord remarked that he’d never witnessed a more delayed start from a film crew. But when the lead actress finally began, she was fantastic.

I heard Miller talk about doing that little cameo, and she said she really put a lot of effort into it! She wasn’t just phoning it in – she described being both careful and having fun with the character. Apparently, she recorded the voice like a million different ways, always checking with the directors to see what they thought. It sounds like she really wanted to get it just right!

Project Hail Mary is out in cinemas now.

The latest issue of Living Legends, a vibrant 100-page tribute to Harry Styles, is now available! You can find it at newsstands or purchase it online.

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2026-03-23 18:19