Kate Hudson Was Almost in 10 Things I Hate About You

Kate Hudson could have been serenaded by Heath Ledger.

Marcia Ross, a casting director who worked on the 1999 cult teen film 10 Things I Hate About You, has revealed that the actress was a contender for a leading role in the movie, as was Katie Holmes. She also named other stars who auditioned for parts in the film, which ultimately starred Ledger and Julia Stiles as main characters Patrick Verona and Kat Stratford in the modern Taming of the Shrew adaptation. 10 Things I Hate About You will celebrate its 20th anniversary this week.

“We screen-tested Josh Hartnett, Eliza Dushku, Heath and Julia,” Ross told the New York Times in comments posted on Wednesday. “But Julia and Heath just had the best chemistry together. I loved Katie Holmes. She was about to get Dawson’s Creek, and we had to make a decision really fast. The other person I loved was Kate Hudson. But her mom [Goldie Hawn] didn’t like the script for her, so she passed.”

About a year after 10 Things I Hate About You was released, Hudson starred in what would become her breakout role of groupie Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe‘s Almost Famous, which earned her a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination.

And Hudson would go on to star with Ledger in the 2002 adventure and romance film The Four Feathers.

Holmes went on to play Joey Potter on Dawson’s Creek, which aired for six seasons.