She’s enchanted.
Rachel Zegler shared details about how she was cast for Disney’s live-action remake of “Snow White” — including how an iconic director sent her “Taylor Swift Easter eggs.”
“Did you have to audition for ‘Snow White’ or, like, they saw you in ‘West Side Story’ [and] they’re like, ‘You’re Snow White?’” host Jimmy Kimmel asked the actress during “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Monday night.
“‘West Side Story’ was kind of nowhere near coming,” she replied.
“We were about six months away from release and no footage had been seen and I actually got a really glowing recommendation from Steven Spielberg to Mark Webb, who directed ‘Snow White,’” Zegler, 23, added.
“And I also got a text from Steven, kind of alluding to the fact that I had gotten the part before I had found out. I wished him a happy Father’s Day — as one does — and he texted me a bunch of apple emojis as a response.”
Kimmel, 57, said the “Jurassic Park” director’s response was “very clever” and “very Steven Spielberg.”
Zegler replied, “Yeah, he was giving Taylor Swift Easter eggs about my casting.”
The “West Side Story” star said she actually “had no idea” what she was reading for when she auditioned for the role.
“It’ll say like, ‘Untitled Disney Live-Action Film,’ and the sides will have different names like Amber and Jeff,” she explained.
“So, I was reading for Amber … and it wasn’t until I had that first read with Mark Webb on Zoom that he had let it slip that I was actually conversing with Dopey. And in the back of my head, I went, ‘OK.’”
Zegler’s role as the iconic Disney princess has been overshadowed by the drama surrounding the film.
Disney scaled back the Hollywood premiere of the film over the weekend, only allowing photographers and a house crew on the red carpet rather than the media outlets who would typically interview the cast.
Zegler faced backlash from fans for her “Free Palestine” support and for slamming President Donald Trump and his supporters after he won the 2024 election last November.
She also faced criticism when she said the plot of the 1937 animated “Snow White” film was “dated” because the prince “literally stalks Snow White.”
Last week, a movie insider exclusively told Page Six that “Disney’s lead actress is out of control,” claiming the network doesn’t “know what to do” with the “outspoken 20-something.”
“Disney chiefs have called her directly and asked her to tone down her [political] posts. They’ve called her management, but she won’t listen,” the source continued. “It’s been this way the entire way through filming. But it’s the tying of her politics to ‘Snow White’ that is upsetting.”
Meanwhile, Zegler’s co-star Gal Gadot, who is Jewish and a native of Israel, has been an outspoken supporter of her home country on social media.
A source told People that Zegler and Gadot, who plays the Evil Queen in the film, “are not friends” and have “nothing in common,” such as their age and their differing political views.
“Snow White” hits theaters on March 21.
