Cher Was Originally Considered For Aaliyah’s Leading Role In The 2002 Film ‘Queen Of The Damned’

Cher, Aaliyah

Cher Was Originally Considered For Aaliyah’s Leading Role In The 2002 Film ‘Queen Of The Damned’

The 2002 gothic horror film ‘Queen of the Damned’ almost had a different leading lady. The late singer Aaliyah stars in the movie and portrays the role of an ancient vampire, Queen Akasha.

However, the film’s director, Michael Rymer, 58, recently revealed that Cher, 75, almost landed Aaliyah’s part. He said,

“I had a number of meetings with actresses, including Cher.”

He continued and shared that Cher fit the aesthetic of the vampire role.

“I drove out to her Malibu house and went through this vast series of Spanish Colonial rooms. There she is sitting in this chair, and she really was already quite a viable Akasha.”

Even though Cher reminded Michael Rymer of Queen Akasha, he ultimately felt that a woman of color should portray the African queen on screen.

“I just had a very strong belief that if we were going to do African queens, we had to have a person of color. I said that to the studio, and we made these long lists – Halle Berry, Regina King, an embarrassment of riches.”

The film’s producer, Jorge Saralegui, noted that Aaliyah,

“was proposed by the studio as a big name to hang the movie on, given that the movie wasn’t going to be that expensive.”

Aaliyah

During his interview, Michael Rymer also shared his first interaction with Aaliyah. He said,

“She was lovely. I said, ‘Look, I’m very serious about this, but I need to know that you can pull this off, for your sake as well as mine. Will you go through a process with me before I say to the studio that I think it’ll work?’ And she said, ‘Absolutely.’ So I put that poor girl through the wringer.”

He continued,

“I got her to learn a monologue from Oscar Wilde’s Salomé and then I had her separately working on Egyptian accents. By the end of the process, I had her reciting Oscar Wilde in a very exaggerated Egyptian accent, crawling around on her knees like a calf. I was like, ‘All right, you are such a trooper. You’re gonna go the distance.’”

After filming the movie, Aaliyah, unfortunately, died on August 25, 2001, prior to the film’s official release on Feb. 22, 2002.

Aaliyah

How would you feel if Cher starred in this film instead of Aaliyah? Tell us in the comments below. 

[VIA]