Harry Styles Almost Played Glen Coco In The Mean Girls Musical

Spoilers for the Mean Girls movie musical ahead. Four for you, Harry Styles — you go, Harry Styles. In a Jan. 16 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mean Girls musical directors Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne revealed that the One Direction alum almost played Glen Coco in the 2024 film.

When asked how they decided which jokes from the 2004 movie to keep in the new adaptation, Jayne said there was “certain comedy” that was funny back then but “doesn’t fly today.” However, Damien giving four candy canes to Glen Coco (and none for Gretchen Wieners) made the cut.

“There are certain iconic lines where we would joke that there would be riots in the streets if it wasn’t in there,” she said. “Like, ‘You go, Glen Coco!’ Give the people what they want. Give me what I want!”

They did just that, and thought about asking Styles to make a brief cameo as the character, who has no lines. “I remember us going, could we ask, like Harry Styles?” Perez said, with Jayne adding, “We were like Harry Styles could be Glen Coco!”

Why It Didn’t Pan Out

Ultimately, Jayne and Perez went in a different direction and didn’t approach Styles about the role. Instead of throwing four candy canes at Glen Coco like in the original movie, Damien, played in the 2024 film by Jaquel Spivey, looks directly into the camera and delivers the line as if talking to viewers.

“We were like, hold on, we love to break the fourth wall: What if we are all Glen Coco?” Jayne said. “So, after 20 years, we can all feel like Glen Coco.”

The Real Story Of Glen Coco

David Reale, who played Glen Coco in the 2004 film, explained in a 2014 interview with Dazed that he got the part by simply showing up on the film’s set to hang out with friends and eat free food. “I actually auditioned for a different part in the movie. I didn’t get it,” he said. “I wasn’t ‘officially’ cast in the film at all — my first day was my only day.”

Director Mark Waters saw him on set, remembered his audition, and decided to write him in on the spot. “I just sat in a chair and tried not to stare at Lindsay Lohan,” he said.

In 2014, writer Tina Fey revealed that Glen Coco was inspired by a real person, who actually spells his name differently. “I tried to use real names in writing because it's just easier,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “My older brother’s good friend is Glenn Cocco. He's a film editor in Los Angeles, and I imagine it’s a pain in the butt for him.”