Arielle Kebbel was “heartbroken” when she was asked to audition for the villain role in Aquamarine – and not the mermaid.
Arielle Kebbel talks Aquamarine audition
In an interview with People, Arielle admitted that she initially screen tested to play the titular character in the 2006 movie, but was asked to come back and try again, this time for the role of Cecilia Banks.
Arielle said she had “really, really, really wanted” to play Aquamarine in the film, and showed up for the audition in a blue wig in reference to the character’s hair in the book the movie is based on.
She said: “They asked me to come back for Cecilia. I’ll be honest, it took me a minute because I was so heartbroken.”
“I really had to wrap my head around like, ‘Am I going to be OK emotionally going to set every day on a mermaid movie, not being the mermaid?’ That was a very real question.
“And then I was like, ‘Yes, of course I am. I want to be in this. What am I doing? Put my ego aside.’ ”
The role turned out to be a career-making one for Arielle, who was determined to make Cecilia a “mean girl with a heart” in her portrayal.
She said: “That movie helped me find my voice on set maybe even more than they realised.”
One of the most iconic Cecilia says in the film is where she screams about Sara Paxton’s mermaid “she’s a fish!”
With Arielle admitting that she actually improvised the phrase.
She said: “It was never scripted that I screamed that way about, ‘She’s a fish!’
“There was just these little moments that I really had so much fun playing with and asking to kind of do my own take on, and I think that helped give me confidence moving forward to speak up on other sets that I was new to and say, ‘Hey, can I try this? I kind of see it this way. Let’s see what that does.’ ”
As for the lasting impact of Aquamarine, Arielle concluded: “It definitely stands out as just being a continued special experience in my life, because when people come up to me and share their memories of the film, it just makes it that much more special for me.”