Why Gilmore Girls Almost Didn’t Have Melissa McCarthy

At the ATX Festival in Austin on Saturday, Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino dropped quite a bomb on fans of the show. She shared that she had to "fight" to get McCarthy for her iconic Sookie role, according to The Hollywood Reporter. At the time, the comedy queen was new to the biz. "She had a different energy and the part was written for a woman, there was no body type," Sherman-Palladino told the audience. "I need someone funny who can really act. It was a tricky sell and it took awhile." Everyone came around eventually, though "it took a few shows." What's strange is that McCarthy was nearly cast aside for the same reason we find her irresistible now. "She is different and different is sometimes not the easiest thing to embrace." Sherman-Palladino encouraged the audience to always fight for what they believe in with their creative work. "If we want people to embrace more Melissa McCarthys and complicated parts … we have to keep writing the parts, fighting the fights and be willing to be fired and say to Mr. Person With Money, 'You're wrong.'" She continued, "Anything worth doing is a fight. If you don't have to fight for it, it's not worth doing." (THR)