Naomi Watts Almost Rejected Her Role In The Ring Until Director Gore Verbinski 'Blew Her Away'
One of the cardinal rules of Hollywood productions is that when someone hits on a good idea, it won't be long before everyone else is copying it. Case in point, after Gore Verbinski's "The Ring" remake became a massive hit, American remakes of other Japanese horror films like "The Grudge," "Pulse," and "Dark Water" became an ongoing trend for years.
Still, none of them came close to touching "The Ring." Like "Scream" or "Get Out," "The Ring" is the kind of film that took over the conversation as far as great horror films go for years in the early-'00s. This is why it's such a shock to hear that Naomi Watts, who starred as Rachel Keller in the film, nearly turned down the role that helped to make her a household name.
As she told People, it took some convincing from Verbinski himself to get her to say yes to "The Ring." "He blew me away in the meeting," Watts recalled. It's easy to see why the actor felt this way, as the filmmaker clearly had an impressive vision for the film that scarred the minds of many millennials.
Watts' role in The Ring helped to make her career
Still, Naomi Watts remembers that she was pretty cold to the idea and that it took a lot of convincing for her agent to say finally agree to the project. "I was having a real hard time with saying yes," she said. "I remember having this conversation with my agent, and he was like, 'I really, really think you should do this.'"
It seems pretty clear that Watts' agent had already recognized the potential lightning in a bottle of a movie like "The Ring," but the actor herself was still unconvinced. "I said, 'I don't think I can. I'm just not sure. I just don't know.' I was really pushing back on it," Watts said. "Then he actually raised his voice and said, 'Just say yes. I'm telling you, trust me on this.'"
Luckily for Watts and fans of "The Ring," the actor did finally concede to her agent. The performer's grounded portrayal of Rachel is one of the film's greatest strengths, especially as her situation grows increasingly dire and terrifying. While the sequels, "The Ring Two" and "Rings," failed to live up to the hype of the original, "The Ring" is still an undisputed horror classic over two decades after its initial release.