Zendaya Coleman is considered as one of the most versatile actresses in the Hollywood industry. Born and brought up in Oakland, her career started at a very young age. Initially, she use to be a child model for Macy’s, Old Navy, and Mervyns, but soon got her breakthrough in the Disney sitcom, Shake It Up.
Zendaya is just 26 years old, but has already gained the title of one of the youngest Emmy Award-winning actress’ in the industry. She has been a part of big franchises like Dune and Marvel, and is also popularly known for her character Rue in the Emmy Nominated series Euphoria.
Marvel Star Was Worried About Almost Losing Role To Zendaya
Laura Harrier as Liz Toomes
Laura Harrier faced competition while auditioning for the role of Liz Toomes. And the competition was from none other than Zendaya. According to Harrier, she found out that the Euphoria actress had been cast to play the daughter of Adrian Toomes a.k.a Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Harrier thought she lost the role to her competition, and it wasn’t until later that she learned otherwise.
Zendaya as MJ
Both actresses got lead roles in the Spider-Man: Homecoming film. Laura Harrier played the first love interest of Tom Holland’s character in the 2017 film. Whereas, throughout the film, Spider-Man gets closer to MJ, played by Zendaya, and eventually their love story begins. According to comics, Mary Jane Watson is considered the first true love of Spider-Man. Laura Harrier was grateful to Marvel for giving both actresses equal chances in the movie.
“I thought it was incredible and ground-breaking of Marvel to put us both in those roles and not to make it about our blackness. We were just girls who went to a school in New York and that’s what New York City looks like; films should reflect that. We had the best time making that movie. Zendaya and I are friends now and I’m really grateful for her. Swinging around on those wires was fun!”
Even before entering the Marvel Franchise, Zendaya already had a well-established career. In the year 2022, she was nominated for her role of MJ in the Best Actress in a Superhero Category for the Critics Choice Award.
Zendaya Had No Idea About Auditioning For The Role Of MJ
Zendaya as MJ and Tom Holland as Spider-Man in “No Way Home.”
Fans already know how Marvel likes maintaining secrets about its cast, plot, and cameos. In a past interview with GQ, the former Disney star revealed that the role and movie she was auditioning for were kept secret from her. But as she had some good agents, she eventually found out it was a Spider-Man movie. But she was still clueless about the character she was auditioning for.
” I just thought it was ‘girl in Spider-man movie.’ I didn’t really know what character, or what kind of character, they would be. Right before the screen test, they were kind of saying okay these are the characters that we’re reading for, MJ being one of them and I was like “oh that would be so cool!”
Over the years, fans have loved Zendaya for portraying the character of MJ perfectly. She has appeared in the Spider-Man trilogy alongside Tom Holland’s titular character. The last installment of the troligy grossed over the $1.9 Billion mark, making it it’s highest-grossing movie.
