The directors of the new Mean Girls musical movie really wanted Harry Styles to make a cameo as Glen Coco.
“There are certain iconic lines where we would joke that there would be riots in the streets if it wasn’t in there. Like, ‘You go, Glen Coco!’ Give the people what they want,” codirector Samantha Jayne said in a Saturday, January 13, interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Give me what I want! But [then] we were like, ‘Who’s Glen Coco?’”
Arturo Perez Jr., who directed the 2024 adaptation alongside Jayne, revealed that the duo were seriously considering asking Styles, 29, to play the part.
“We were like Harry Styles could be Glen Coco!” Jayne shared before admitting that they ultimately decided not to make the beloved character a specific person in the film. “Then we were like, hold on, we love to break the fourth wall: What if we are all Glen Coco? So, after 20 years, we can all feel like Glen Coco.”
In the movie, the famous line is delivered directly to the camera insinuating that the audience is Glen Coco.
In the 2004 original film of the same name, the character Damian (portrayed by Daniel Franzese) is dressed up as Santa as he delivers holiday treats to the students. Damian gives a candy gram to Cady (Lindsay Lohan), which makes Gretchen (Lacey Chabert) jealous, before he continues with his deliveries.
“Four for you, Glen Coco! You go, Glen Coco!” Damian exclaims as Gretchen begins to pipe up asking if he has one for her. “And none for Gretchen Weiners, bye!”
Creator Tina Fey revealed in a December 2023 interview with Fandango that the line was one of her favorite moments from the original movie. She also confessed that the name Glen Coco was based on a person she knew in real life.
“It was just my brother’s friend’s name … when I was writing the movie the first time, I was just using random names,” Fey, 53, said to the outlet. “Now I’ve ruined his life. He’s really nice about it, but he’s just a dad living here in Los Angeles. Thanks again, Glenn, for not being mad about it!”
The real-life Glenn Coco opened up to Yahoo Entertainment earlier this month about his name drop and how he still thinks it’s hilarious after all these years.
“I get a laugh sometimes when I purchase something using my credit card,” Coco said at the time. “There are a lot of different generations exposed to the movie, so sometimes it’s inescapable.”
