Washington D.C: Jim Carrey starrer `The Mask` marked the debut film of actor Cameron Diaz but it turned out that she wasn`t the first choice for the film!Chuck Russell, the film`s director told Variety that earlier he was eyeing a model Anna Nicole Smith to play the nightclub singer who mesmerizes Carrey, in the 1994 film.


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"We met. Anna was charming and bubbly but did not have other qualities needed for the role. I never took the next step to run scenes with her," Russell said, eventually opening the doors for Diaz to join the film."I saw Cameron`s 8x10 on the casting desk and asked, `What about her?` and I was told she was submitted but had not acted in anything else yet.


I said to bring her in and let`s see," he recalled. And as Diaz auditioned for the role, she turned out to be the only and right "person for the part as far as I was concerned after her first reading."And as they moved ahead with the process, Russell shared that he "saw the chemistry with her and Jim."Eight callbacks later, including improving with Jim, I finally convinced producers [to cast her]," he added.


The iconic film released in 1994 established Diaz as the leading lady and with Carrey`s taking the center stage as the leading man. Not only this, but Carrey even earned the Golden Globe nomination for his role. As of now, the 46-year-old actor has retired and put an end to her cinematic career last year in April.