Meg Ryan Reveals the Iconic Movie Role She Passed On to Star in 'When Harry Met Sally'

Though she’s had a decades-long career spanning several movie genres, Meg Ryan is inextricably linked to romantic comedies.

One of her most famous rom-com roles is the titular Sally Albright in the 1989 hit When Harry Met Sally, but it almost didn’t happen.

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In a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Times published on Dec. 15, Ryan spoke candidly about her most iconic movie roles and her working relationship and friendship with Nora Ephron, who wrote When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail.

Though Ryan went on to star in all three of those movies, her career trajectory could have been very different. After appearing in a series of television shows in the early 1980s, Ryan hit it big as Carole, the wife and, spoiler, widow, of Anthony Edwards’ Goose in Top Gun.

Shortly after, Ryan was cast as Shelby, the diabetic daughter of Sally Fields’ character in Steel Magnolias. But then When Harry Met Sally came around, and Ryan jumped ship for the Ephron vehicle instead.

“I don’t know if it’s good form to talk about this, but I’m so happy that things turned out as they did,” said Ryan. The role instead went to a young Julia Roberts, whose career catapulted into the stratosphere after her Academy Award-nominated performance in the 1989 film. Roberts also won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for the movie.

Ryan shared that, despite Ephron’s knack for writing romantic movies, she didn’t give her advice when it came to her love life. “She did give me the best advice about how to choose a movie. She said, ‘Meg, it’s more important what you say no to than what you say yes to.’ And she was right,” the City of Angels star noted.

After working with Ephron, Ryan steered her career in other directions, jumping into thrillers and more dramatic roles. But last year she went back to her old mainstay, directing and starring in What Happens Later. The movie, which also stars David Duchovny, explores what happens when two exes get snowed in together at an airport.

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