1. In the original Veronica Mars script, creator Rob Thomas described the titular teen P.I. as a brunette, young Angelina Jolie-type, but his plans completely changed once he saw Kristen Bell read for the part.
“Kristen was the very first actress I saw and my mind was blown,” Thomas recalled at PaleyFest 2014. As he auditioned the next 99 people for the part, he continued, “I kept thinking, ‘Was that first girl as brilliant as I thought she was?'” Clearly, she was.
2. Still, she wasn’t the only actress to be brought in to test for the network: She was up against Alona Tal, who would go on to play Meg Manning.
3. Veronica’s signature style? It was mostly Bell’s doing, with the star telling Vanity Fair, “Rob built her emotional armor in the context of the story. I, along with the prop and costume department, built her physical armor—her leather jacket, her combat boots, her dark-colored wardrobe. Her bag to me is her binky that has all her weapons and tools in it.”
