Entertainment Movies Christine Taylor Jokes She Was 'Fourth Choice and Cheap' to Star with Ben Stiller in 'Zoolander' Taylor revealed on The Drew Barrymore Show that the role of Matilda Jeffries in Zoolander was offered to several other actresses, including Sarah Jessica Parker, before she got the role By Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman Kimberlee Speakman is a digital writer at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2022. Her work has previously appeared in Forbes and she has also worked in broadcast television as a reporter for Hawaii-based news station KHON2 News. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 7, 2023 03:02PM EST Photo: Moviestore/Shutterstock Playing Matilda Jeffries opposite her husband Ben Stiller in Zoolander, wasn't always the plan for Christine Taylor. The Friendsgiving actress, 51, revealed on The Drew Barrymore Show Tuesday that she actually had her eye on a different movie with Stiller, before being cast in 2001's Zoolander. "My joke with that movie was we had just got married and he was reading lots of actors for the part [of Matilda Jeffries] and I had auditioned for Meet the Parents… and I didn't get the part," Taylor said. Taylor said she was originally "not going to audition" for the Zoolander role because she had been dating Stiller at the time, but fate had other plans. Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor's Relationship Timeline "It would be a job I would probably audition for, but I don't want to put us through the discomfort of, 'what if they don't want to cast me in it? What if?'," Taylor explained to host Drew Barrymore. So, she said she "sort of took myself out of it" and the role had been offered instead to other popular actresses at the time, like Sarah Jessica Parker. But Taylor said they either "couldn't do it or for whatever reason [didn't]," which opened the door for her to come in. "I always joke that I'm fourth choice and cheap, which is why I cast in it," Taylor teased. The Drew Barrymore Show/Ash Bean Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. She added that she's been presently surprised at the positive reactions to the film since its release. "It's the best," Taylor said. "People have grown to love it more and more with every decade." Zoolander is a comedy about a clueless fashion model named Derek Zoolander (played by Stiller) who is brainwashed by the fashion designer Mugatu (Will Ferrell) to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia. In the film, an investigative reporter by the name of Matilda Jeffries (played by Taylor) looks into the situation and eventually falls in love with Zoolander as a result. Melinda Sue Gordon/Paramount/Nvp/Red Hour/Village R'Show/Kobal/Shutterstock Stiller recently reprised his iconic role in the movie in a commercial for Pepsi Zero Sugar for Super Bowl 2023. Speaking with PEOPLE about the ad, Stiller detailed that getting to return to his Zoolander character once again, even if only for a brief moment, is something that is "always fun." Ben Stiller Reprises 'Zoolander' Role for Pepsi Super Bowl Ad: I Have 'a Long History with Him' "Anytime I have a chance to go back to doing it, it's feeling this reconnection," he said. "[I have] such good memories over the years of working on the movies, going all the way back to when we first did the character." "It's been a long history with him, so it's great that people still want to see Derek in their lives," he added. "I think he represents something for people in terms of a sweet vapidity that's very endearing."