Zooey Deschanel’s Role in ‘Elf’ Was Actually Promised to This ’90s Icon
Wait, what? Zooey Deschanel wasn’t the first choice to play Jovie in the movie Elf?
That’s right. The role of Jovie, the cynical yet vocally blessed department store clerk working alongside Buddy, the screen’s most adorable man-elf in green tights (played by Will Ferrell), was originally promised to another beloved actress.
While chatting with host Alex Cooper on her Call Her Daddy podcast, Deschanel revealed that during her audition with Elf director Jon Favreau, she learned that Dawson’s Creek alum Katie Holmes had already landed the part.
“When I met with Jon, I walked in, and he was like, ‘Oh, you don’t need to read. We just offered it to Katie Holmes,’” Deschanel told Cooper, who was sporting an apropos elf costume herself.
Deschanel responded, “Oh, OK. Cool,” then said that she spent the duration of the audition chatting it up with the Iron Man helmer instead.
At the time (the late ’90s, early 2000s), Holmes was wrapping her waterfront drama, as well as a pair of films, Pieces of April and The Singing Detective. She ended up dropping out of Favreau’s holiday production due to scheduling conflicts, which led Favreau to circle back to Deschanel.
These days, Holmes is broadening her horizons, adding producer and director credits (Rare Objects, Alone Together) to her resume. She also recently secured a guest spot on the Peacock hit Poker Face.
As for Deschanel, she’s still going strong as one-half of the musical duo She & Him and celebrating the premiere of her latest holiday film, Merv, now streaming on Prime Video.
And as for Elf, the film about a middle-age elf determined to reconnect with his Scrooge of a father (played by James Caan) went on to become a box-office smash, took home more than $230 million worldwide, and remains a household holiday staple every year.
So, call it luck, kismet, or just a good, old-fashioned Christmas miracle, looks like everything worked out as it should have.
Related: Zooey Deschanel Reveals How the ‘Elf’ Script Was Tailored Specifically For Her
This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 19, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.