Natasha Lyonne Almost Became Sabrina The Teenage Witch Before Melissa Joan Hart Got The Part
At this point, I'm convinced Natasha Lyonne can do anything. The actor, writer, director, and producer is on a serious roll, starring in (and showrunning) the fantastic second season of the Netflix sci-fi series "Russian Doll" and starring in Rian Johnson's new Peacock series "Poker Face," but once upon a time she wasn't as famous and lost out on some pretty big roles. Lyonne has been acting since she was a child, with her first credited performance on "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" when she was just six years old, and that means she's been to enough auditions that she's probably lost count. Apparently, among those auditions were try-outs for the title role on the ABC comedy series "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and for Six on the NBC comedy series "Blossom," both of which would have been wildly different with Leone.
While appearing on "Watch What Happens Live," host Andy Cohen asked Lyonne if there were any roles she tried out for over her expansive career that she thought should have been hers instead. Lyonne, always candid, revealed that there were quite a few, but "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" was probably the most surprising of them all. The series ended up starring Melissa Joan Hart, who was a massive name at the time due to her starring role on Nickelodeon's "Clarissa Explains it All," but Lyonne would have brought a completely different energy to the teenage spellcaster.
Wonderfully weird witchy women
One can imagine that it always stings a bit to lose out on a role, even years later, but Lyonne was perfectly candid about her lost potential sitcom stardom, explaining that she auditioned for both Blossom and Six on the series "Blossom," Sabrina on "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," and for the 1991 John Hughes' flick "Curly Sue." Both Cohen and fellow guest Alison Brie were completely shocked that Lyonne lost out on the role of Six in particular, which went to actor Jenna von Oÿ, while the role of Blossom went to Mayim Bialik.
Lyonne managed just fine without getting those roles, starring in comedy films like "American Pie" and "Slums of Beverly Hills" before becoming a household name with her empathetic and sleazy-cool portrayal of Nicky on the Netflix women-in-prison series "Orange is the New Black." Lyonne's characters seem to always have a bit of her laissez-faire, easy-going attitude baked into them, and it would have been amazing to see that in a role like Sabrina. Don't get me wrong — Melissa Joan Hart was great and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" was a beloved part of the TGIF Friday night lineup on ABC for good reason! It's just that the idea of a curly-haired, gravel-voiced teenage witch sounds like a totally different show, and one I would have loved to see.
A different kind of magic
"Sabrina the Teenage Witch" followed the adventures of high school spellcaster Sabrina Spellman, who lived with her aunts and her familiar, a talking cat named Salem (voiced by comedian Nick Bakay). She had to deal with typical teenage problems like asking a boy to the Sadie Hawkins Dance or getting a big pimple right before her class presentation, but she usually had supernatural solutions. Lyonne would have probably made the character a bit snarkier and sharper, though the love for Salem the cat would have probably stayed the same. (Just imagine their banter!)
Thankfully, Lyonne's career did just fine even without those big sitcom roles, and she's gone on to be a massive star in both movies and television. Fans of the fabulous performer with the amazing accent can check her out as Charlie Cale, who can tell when people are lying, on Peacock's "Poker Face." That might not have a bubbling cauldron or a talking cat, but it does have its own special kind of magic, and a big part of that is all Lyonne. Here's hoping that we get to continue to see her onscreen genius for a long, long time.