Mean Girls star Lindsay Lohan almost cast as Regina George

Casting revelations have come just as the film celebrates its 10th anniversary

Cult classic Mean Girls produced many pieces of immortal wisdom - but it could have been a very different film (Anthea Le Trelle)

Ten years after rom-com Mean Girls took the female world by storm, it has been revealed that Lindsay Lohan was meant to play Queen of the Plastics, Regina George.

Director Mark Waters has told how Lohan was keen to take on the villain role but ended up taking the lead as 16-year-old Cady Heron.

"[Lohan’s] energy is a very aggressive, testosterone-laden energy, and that’s exactly what I knew I needed for Regina George," he told Vulture. "When I gave it to her, she was like, 'I f**king love Regina George! This is exactly the part I want to play.'"

After Lohan and Waters did a read-through, however, Paramount bosses requested that Lohan be cast as the home-schooled Cady after her success in Freaky Friday.

"Lindsay kind of begrudgingly said, 'Okay, I guess I'll play the lead. At least I get to have more lines,'" Waters said.

Rachel McAdams, who ended up playing Regina, originally read for the part of Cady, but Waters decided she was "too old" for the character. Amanda Seyfried vied for the part of Regina but was cast as the ditsy Karen instead.

Waters added that during filming, Lohan would be "very shy" when acting alongside McAdams. "Lindsay kind of got nervous around her," he said. "I thought that, more than anything, was going to be the deciding factor, the fact that she affected Lindsay in that way."

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