Even 20 years later, Blake Lively’s audition for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants left an impression on the film’s director, Ken Kwapis. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was an undeniable coming-of-age phenomenon. Based on the best-selling books by Anne Brashares, Sisterhood follows four best friends who have been glued together since birth – Tibby, Lena, Carmen, and Bridget – who find a “magical” pair of jeans that fit them all perfectly. Deciding to share the jeans as they go their separate ways for the first time, the girls learn to deal with grief, heartbreak, and new love.

According to Kwapis, Blake Lively’s role as free-spirited, athletic Bridget Vreeland was especially challenging because of her character’s recent loss. During an interview with ScreenRant, Kwapis reflected on Lively’s audition for the emotionally demanding role, which was all the more impressive because Lively “came in without anything on her resume.”

Blake came in without anything on her resume. She’d never had an acting job before, and she was 16 when she auditioned for the role, but it was so clear in the room that she had this intuitive connection to that character. She was just perfect for it. She had a tough job, too. First time out of the gate as an actor in a major emotional picture, playing a character who’s dealing with some pretty weighty issues, specifically trying to process the death of a parent by suicide. She had some tough stuff to pull off, and she did it so beautifully.

It’s been 20 years since the first Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants film premiered, and Sisterhood‘s four core cast members are all still friends today. ScreenRant asked Kwapis about other rumored actresses and why the chosen cast was ultimately right for the film.

ScreenRant: I was doing a deep dive of fun facts about the film, and I found this report. I don’t know if it’s true, but there were rumors that it was almost a different cast with Hilary Duff, Olivia Wilde, Mischa Barton, and Kristin Kreuk. But the final cast you have is incredible, and they are still all friends. How do you think finding those four ultimately shaped the film?

Ken Kwapis: The challenge for me was that the four actors – Blake, Alexis [Bledel], Amber [Tamblyn], and America [Ferrera] – did not know each other before making this film. And, as you know from the film, the four have only a few scenes together. They’re together in the beginning of the film, and at the end. The challenge was how to encourage the four actors to create a sense that they’re lifelong friends; that they’ve been best friends since birth. There was no question in my mind when I met America, Alexis, Amber, and Blake that those were the four actors for these roles.

Why Blake Lively’s Role Was One Of The Hardest In Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants

Bridget Vreeland’s Grief Was Layered

All the girls in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants deal with relatable, painful life events. Tibby becomes friends with a young girl dying of Leukemia. Carmen feels estranged from her father after he introduces her to his new family. Lena learns to come out of her shell and falls for someone her family hates. Bridget’s journey is more layered, though. Her mother died only a few weeks earlier, but rather than processing her grief alongside her emotionally stunted father, she runs away to Mexico and hides behind her sunny personality.

She throws herself into a forbidden flirtation with an older guy. She runs along the beach to escape her grief. As the movie progresses, Bridget’s pain becomes more apparent as she becomes more reckless, and that’s not a simple thing to portray, especially not, as Kwapis mentioned, in a first major role. Bridget’s journey anchors the film, just like her personality anchors the friend group.

Our Take On The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants, 20 Years Later

A Cultural Phenomenon

What made this movie so successful, especially among millennial teenage girls, is that there’s a relatable storyline for almost everyone. Sure, Bridget’s grief hits the hardest. But Carmen’s insecurities and the racial prejudice she faces, Lena’s difficulty overcoming her shy personality, and Tibby’s new appreciation for life through her friendship with Bailey change them all in significant ways, perhaps in a way that can only happen when you’re a teenager and everything feels scary, and new, and exciting.

Kwapis’ film did a great job of bringing the book to life. The friendship between the four girls feels authentic, even though they only share a few scenes. It’s been 20 years, and though certain things may not have aged well, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants still feels relevant.