 In such a performance-led piece, perfecting casting chemistry in the lead roles was crucial. Michelle Pfeiffer brings impeccable comic timing and an effortless naturalism to Rosie. “She is the most incredible actress,” enthuses Heckerling. “Her ability to get her emotions right there on the surface – they almost burst out at you. She’s also funny, which I don’t think we’ve seen enough in movies, because she’s so beautiful she doesn’t often get cast as that.”
Adam Perl, the young actor who steals Rosie’s heart, had to be a goofy heartthrob capable of enchanting Michelle Pfeiffer. Their love affair had to be totally credible. He also had to have enough charisma to win over her on-screen daughter. No small order, there.  Paul Rudd (Anchor Man, 40 Year-Old Virgin), who collaborated with Heckerling ten years ago on Clueless, was in the frame to play Adam from the start. “When I first worked with Paul he’d done nothing,” explains the writer-director. “I took a chance on him and I’ve been in love with him ever since. I think he just gets funnier and funnier. I always try and see everything he’s done. His range is amazing. On the one hand, he’s keeping up with everybody and being hilarious in the 40 Year-Old Virgin. Then he’s on Broadway doing Shakespeare. He should be a huge star. I think now is his time. The chemistry between him and Michelle is great: he needles her and she giggles like a teenage girl.”
For his part, Rudd had a blast making the movie. “Well, working with Michelle was amazing,” he laughs. “I mean come on! Let’s get real! Let’s see, who are the men she’s played opposite? Jack Nicholson… Al Pacino… Sean Penn… and Me. I’m never gonna get used to it! And Amy is brilliant at making me feel funnier than I am!”  The third vital piece of casting was Rosie’s daughter Izzie, a Beverly Hills kid who doesn’t quite fit in. For the film’s satirical tone and Heckerling’s voice to be heard, they needed a child actor who would be completely removed from the run-of-the-mill spoiled Hollywood brat. The team fell in love with Irish pre-teen Saoirse Ronan very early on but were convinced for a while that they needed to ‘go American’. “Saoirse is adorable,” says Heckerling. “In the audition she did American for us and she said, ‘Do you want to hear Australian? Do you want to hear New Zealand? Cockney? Scottish? It’s scary, her ear is amazing.”
 For the part of Mother Nature, Rosie’s conscience, Heckerling cast her first choice, comedy genius Tracey Ullman. “Tracey’s such a trip,” says the writer/director. “She’s so funny.” Adds producer Cerise Hallam-Larkin: “At first we thought maybe she could use her English accent, but when we heard her Bronxy telling-off voice it made complete sense for the character to be East Coast!”
Ullman was delighted to be on board: “I love this movie because it’s about women aging, which is something we really need to talk about, especially in America. We have to age with dignity girls. There are women who can’t move their faces any more and you think, ‘What are you doing?”. So for a film to address this issue in a comical way is fantastic. And it’s much needed at this time!”  Heckerling likes working with friends. She wrote the part of Brianna Minx, the neurotic lead actress of Rosie’s show You Go Girl, for Clueless star Stacey Dash. “The character is in her mid-30s and doesn’t understand why teenage actresses are getting further ahead because she was a teenager first and it’s not fair,” says Heckerling. “Brianna has that unbelievable sense of entitlement and Stacey is so funny doing that.”
Dash recognises the world of the film from first-hand experience: “I’d say this is very close to the reality of Hollywood as far as women are concerned. We’re expected to stay young, stay thin, stay beautiful and the truth is you can’t hold back the clock. I think the women that you end up ultimately looking up to, loving and aspiring to be, are the women who don’t fall into that trap.” “Working with Michelle Pfeiffer was amazing,” she continues. “I was staring at her all the time and had to say, ‘Stacey, stop looking at her’. I’ve worked with Paul Rudd before. He’s like my brother and we have to kiss in one scene which was so strange, it was like incest!”  Another key role is Jeannie, Rosie’s secretary and trashy alter ego. British comedy actress Sarah Alexander (Smack The Dead Pony, Coupling) makes her movie debut in the role. Heckerling explains: “We wanted Jeannie to be in the same vein as Rosie and yet a cheaper, meaner version. I don’t know if anybody but me and the costume people will get it, but if Rosie’s wearing something, a few scenes later Jeannie’s wearing a very cheap version of it. Sarah was perfect in the audition.”
Says Alexander: “Amy knows her comedy, she knows what she wants from each character and she allows you to play as well which is really important. It’s a brilliant comedy script with brilliant comedy characters. And we are all going to fall madly in love with Paul Rudd!” Heckerling is a huge fan of British comedy and was thrilled to use so many British actors for the film’s supporting cast. “Even in the very small roles we have the cream of British talent,” says Hallam-Larkin. “From Mackenzie Crook from The Office and Pirates of the Caribbean to Peep Show’s David Mitchell who is going to be an incredible force in the world of comedy. Plus we had great people like Graham Norton in cameos.” Some aspects of casting I Could Never Be Your Woman were tricky, however. “To find British actors who can do a convincing American accent without losing any of their humour was hard,” admits Hallam-Larkin. “I hope David Mitchell will forgive me for saying that the only reason he’s playing English in the film is because he couldn’t get an American accent! We loved him so much that we had to have him anyway!” | 
The Casting
