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Fast & Furious: The Actresses Who Almost Played Mia Toretto
Jordana Brewster has been the face of Mia Toretto since the start of Fast & Furious franchise nearly two decades ago, but that almost wasn't the case as the role could've gone to another actress. Brewster first appeared in the series' debut installment, 2001's The Fast and the Furious. As the sister of the core protagonist, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Mia was thrust into the street racing lifestyle as well as her brother's various heists.
Mia is the younger sister of Dom, so he is very protective of her throughout the franchise. Although she's aware of her brother's criminal actions, she tries to stay away from illegal activity. Mia then starts a relationship with Brian O'Conner (Paul Walker), an undercover cop who finds himself involved in Dom's dealings. When Brian becomes Dom's right-hand man in various heists and global conflicts, Mia often finds herself caught in the drama. She has a prominent role in Fast & Furious and Fast Five before stepping back in Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7 due to the fact that she and Brian have two children together. The character is set to make her return in a lead role for F9.
Before Brewster was cast in The Fast Saga, she had minor roles in films like The Faculty and The Invisible Circus as well as a regular role on the soap opera, As the World Turns. Her big break in acting came when she was cast as Mia but the role didn't just fall in her lap. The studio had a list of popular actresses that they were considering for the movie directed by Rob Cohen. The actresses who auditioned were Jessica Biel, Bijou Phillips, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Kirsten Dunst. Natalie Portman also tried out for the role but she was locked into the Star Wars prequel trilogy at the time. More interesting was the fact that the role of Mia was originally written for a specific actress: Eliza Dushku.
The Role Of Mia Toretto Was Written For Eliza Dushku
Prior to the release of The Fast and the Furious, Dushku appeared on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spinoff, Angel. She was also coming off of the popularity surrounding Bring It On in 2000 so the actress was in high-demand. When the street racing movie was being developed, the writing crew had Dushku in mind for Dom's sister. She was then offered the role, but remained uninterested in taking it. There was never a specific reason given for her decline, but she was very busy in the early '00s. There were most likely scheduling conflicts that led to Dushku passing on the role.
Brewster later emerged as the front-runner and landed the gig of Mia, a role that would last multiple decades. Declining the role certainly didn't hurt Dushku's career path, but it would have been interesting to see how it would have changed if she joined Fast & Furious. Brewster has had intermittent success as an actress but she keeps coming back to her Fast Family. It's safe to say that Brewster never felt any regret when it came to taking on the role of Mia.
F9/Fast & Furious 9 (2021)
Release Date: Apr 02, 2021
