Superbad Was Directly Responsible For Emma Stone's Signature Red Hair
Emma Stone is known for her fiery red hair, but did you know that the Academy Award-winning actress is actually a natural blonde? Stone began her career with her natural hair but has been best recognized for her red mane since the early 2000s. The actress dyed her hair for the first time to snag the role of Jules in "Superbad," the blockbuster comedy that launched her legacy.
"Superbad" is a hilarious cultural staple about two boys, played by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera, who want to lose their virginity before heading off to college. When their classmate Jules throws a party on one of the final days of senior year, the boys think it may be their last chance to get laid. The pair sets off on an epic quest to acquire alcohol for the party and finally impress the girls they are crushing on, Jules (Stone) and Becca (Martha MacIsaac).
Stone went on to have a much more storied filmography than MacIsaac but their credits were neck and neck at the time. MacIsaac had landed supporting roles in a few TV movies, while Stone had made a few appearances on primetime shows like "Malcolm in the Middle" and "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody." Since neither was widely recognized, the crew was concerned that if the two actresses had similar hair colors, the audience wouldn't be able to tell them apart.
...and she's had to live with that since
Judd Apatow, the acclaimed producer behind "Superbad," spilled the behind-the-scenes details to Vanity Fair.
"There was a concern that [Stone] had the same color hair as Martha MacIsaac's. And I said, "Well, maybe it could be like red or something." So we dyed her hair red, which I think she had never done before. And since then, she has cursed me because now people love her with red hair and she's had to live with that for a lot of her adult life."
This may explain why production wanted Stone to dye her hair, but why was the actress willing to go the extra mile for the role?
The actress may be an Oscar winner now, but she faced plenty of rejection at the beginning of her career. She had auditioned several times for casting director Allison Jones but had never successfully landed any of the roles that she was scouting for. One day, she got a call from Jones asking her to audition opposite Jonah Hill.
"I feel like it's a real testament to the power of casting directors and all of these auditions that you think are failed auditions," the actress recalled. "Sometimes someone remembers you, and asks you to come in for something and changes your whole life."
Stone was willing to dye her hair for "Superbad" because she knew that working with the creative team that made "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" would be an incredible opportunity. Even though she has more than proved her credentials as an actress, she continues to elevate every role she takes, commit herself completely — and dye her hair red — all these years later.