It’s not every day that a TV icon reveals they’re grateful for getting fired – but without that pivotal setback at the age of 11, Hilary Duff would never have become a household name.
A staple of Noughties childhoods, Duff shot to fame in Disney’s Lizzie Maguire series, where she played the titular character for two seasons from 2001 to 2004 before embarking on her own Hollywood career in Agent Cody Banks, Cheaper by the Dozen and A Cinderella Story.
Yet none of her glittering on screen sparkle would ever have come to pass, if she hadn’t been fired from another TV role first.
Reflecting on her journey to stardom, Duff told Variety: “I had decided that I wanted to go back to Texas and be a ‘normal kid'.
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“I had just gotten replaced off of a TV show because they replaced me with twins, so they could work longer hours.
“And I remember being like, ‘I got fired. 11 years old and I got fired from a job.’ It was like absolutely devastating.”
With her dream job in tatters, Duff was ready to throw in the towel, but a phone call from her manager soon changed things as they revealed Disney had invited her to audition.
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“My manager called my mom and was like, ‘Disney wants to see Hilary for this thing," she added.
Still reeling from her earlier rejection, Duff didn’t prepare for the audition and initially gave a lacklustre performance.
“I walked in and I was super unprepared. It was like a monologue.” Duff then recalled how she will 'never forget' that the casting director Robin Lippin called her out for it. “She was like, ‘You’re not very prepared for this.'”
Duff was embarrassed, but she said: “I always kind of love a challenge.”
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Seeing a glimmer of potential in the young star, Lippin asked Duff to return the following day to try again – and the difference couldn’t have been more profound.
“I came back the next day and I was completely off book. And I had it down,” she said.
Over the next few weeks, Duff went to multiple rounds of auditions — including one where they asked her for her special talent.
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Keen to showcase her hidden skill, the young actress walked around on her hands, remembering: “I think I was trying to shock everybody.”
And it paid off, as Lizzie Maguire often used her gymnastics skills on screen, something she said meant her unique talent ‘came in handy'.
In addition to her acting, Duff has also made a name for herself as a formidable singer, with 2004’s Hilary Duff and 2007’s Dignity proving to be a big hit with audiences – however singing was never part of her original plan.
“I think it was a combination of not entirely knowing what I was doing and also being thrilled to be a pop star,” she said of her early music career.
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Despite taking ‘voice lessons’ as a child, Duff had never planned to launch a music career but found herself unexpectedly inspired by Britney Spears.
“I was like, well I’m also gonna be a pop star, so watch this,” she joked.
Phoebe Tonks