Zooey Deschanel landed her breakout role in Elf after Katie Holmes dropped out due to a scheduling conflict.

The New Girl actress was only 21 when she played department store employee Jovie, who becomes the love interest of Will Ferrell’s Buddy, in Jon Favreau’s 2003 comedy.

However, Deschanel revealed on the Call Her Daddy podcast on Wednesday that she almost didn’t get the part because Favreau had already offered it to Dawson’s Creek star Holmes by the time she went for her audition.

“I walked in and he was like, ‘Oh, you don’t need to read. We just offered it to Katie Holmes.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, OK, cool,’ and he’s like, ‘Well, sit down and talk for a minute,'” she recalled, before noting that all her nerves disappeared when she learned the role was already gone.

“What was great about that was like, I wasn’t nervous,” she continued. “It’s like when you’re an actor, you’re like first starting, and you’re auditioning, you get nervous, and you’re like psyching yourself up. I wasn’t nervous at all, because I was like, ‘Well, I’m not getting the part.'”

When Holmes had a “scheduling conflict” and could no longer play Jovie, they decided to give Deschanel the role. They also added scenes where Jovie sings because the screenwriting team knew that the 45-year-old had a cabaret act at the time.

The (500) Days of Summer actress also noted that she auditioned with blonde hair because she had recently screen tested for a movie about a pop star, which “never ended up happening”, and the Elf team wanted her to keep the look for Jovie.

“My hair’s like really stiff in the movie because it was bleached and then it was highlighted,” the brunette star shared. “I was like young and dumb and I remember they glued the extensions in, I couldn’t get them out, and I was like trying to pull them and I like ripped my hair out.”

© Cover Media