This month marked the 20th anniversary of the Ben Stiller cult classic Zoolander, and in celebration Stiller and his co-stars Christine Taylor and Milla Jovovich spoke to Esquire magazine about the making of the movie that went from being a relative flop to one of the most quoted movies of the decade thanks in the main to its casting. However, according to Stiller, there was a time when it looked like at least two of the most loved characters were almost played by completely different actors, including Owen Wilson's Hansel who was almost played by Donnie Darko's Jake Gyllenhaal.

Ben Stiller explained that at the time the movie was about to go into production, Owen Wilson was thought not to be available for the shoot despite him being first choice for the "so hot right now" supermodel Hansel, and that meant that other actors were auditioned for the role.

"The only one that I remember clearly was a young Jake Gyllenhaal doing this wide-eyed version of Hansel that was really funny," Stiller said before going on to discuss another role that was almost portrayed in a whole different way. "Andy Dick was supposed to play Mugatu," Stiller recalled, but as the comedian was too busy working on a sitcom at the time, the part ended up being offered to Will Ferrell and as Stiller put it, "Now it's impossible for me to picture anybody but Will doing it."

In many ways, the over the top and absurd performances by both Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell in their respective roles is one of the things that turned the movie into the success it became, and it has to be wondered if the film would have gained the following it has if those certain decisions had been made differently. Although it took only $15 million on its opening weekend, the movie managed to make its $28 million budget payoff with a near $61million gross, but it was by no means a runaway smash. It failed to hit the right notes with critics, which means even now the film only has a 64% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes but in many ways the arrival in cinemas just weeks after the 9/11 attacks was also seen as a hindrance to the movie's initial earnings.

"It was such a hard time with comedy," Christine Taylor told the publication. "Laughing might be a remedy in the moment, but the truth of the matter is, people weren't ready."

Zoolander stemmed from the character crated by Stiller for the 1996 VH1 Fashion Awards called Derek Zoolander, a male model whose style was a lot shaper than his mind, and the movie saw Stiller expanding the character from two shorts made for that event and putting him in a plot that saw him unwittingly signing up to a campaign run by Ferrell's Mugatu that was a cover for an assassination attempt on the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Again, it is easy to see that while this was all done in a comical way, the assassination plot just probably didn't sit right at the time with many, which is why the movie had to bide its time to become the comedy classic it is seen as today. This news originated at Esquire.