It may be one of her most iconic roles, but Zooey Deschanel has revealed that she wasn’t the first choice for the part of Jovie in Elf. With the beloved festive film streaming in the UK, who did she beat to the role?
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, the actor shared that she initially didn’t have much hope of landing the part after being informed that a Hollywood star had already been offered the role, but fortune soon turned.
“When I met with Jon Favreau, the director, I walked in and he was like: ‘You don’t need to read, we’ve just offered it to Katie Holmes.'” recalled Deschanel. “I was like: ‘Oh okay. Cool.’ And he was like: ‘Well, let’s sit down and talk for a minute.’
“What was great about that was that I wasn’t nervous. When you’re an actor and you’re auditioning, you get nervous. But I wasn’t nervous at all because I thought I wasn’t getting the part.”
Deschanel added further that Holmes withdrew from the project due to scheduling conflicts, before explaining that her own background in cabaret was factored in when fleshing out Jovie’s character.
Warner Bros.
Related: Best film and TV tours for 2025
The actor, who has since starred in New Girl and (500) Days of Summer, added that Elf was a “litmus test” in how she chooses projects now, with the star recalling that she “giggled” all the way through the first read.
Originally released in 2003, the festive comedy follows Buddy Hobbs (Will Ferrell) as he adapts to a strange new society after being raised by Santa’s elves, with the character searching for his biological father Walter (James Caan) in New York.
Warner Bros.
Related: Home Alone fan points out mistakes you hadn’t seen before: “Christmas ruined”
Featuring Mary Steenburgen and Ed Asner in supporting roles, Elf has grown to become a favourite over the holiday season, and is currently available to stream in the UK on Sky Cinema and NOW.
Sky Cinema can be purchased as an add-on with an existing Sky TV membership, and is priced at £9 a month (you also get streaming service Paramount+ included). NOW is currently priced at £8.99 per month for the TV and Movie package, a saving of 55%.
Elf is streaming on Sky Cinema and NOW.
Love TV? Get your Christmas viewing sorted with the Good Housekeeping Christmas TV Guide, featuring 14 days of Christmas TV listings, plus everything you need for the ultimate festive viewing experience! Just £4.75 – available now at Morrisons, TG Jones and all other good magazine retailers.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. Â His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
Â