Casting 'The Great Gatsby': Baz Luhrmann Picks Carey Mulligan to Play Daisy Buchanan

Carey Mulligan has won the role of Daisy Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann's much anticipated update of The Great Gatsby. The Oscar-nominated actress (An Education) beat out an elite group of young Hollywood actresses—the likes of Scarlett Johansson, Blake Lively, Amanda Seyfried, Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Michelle Williams, and Rebecca Hall—in a highly publicized, highly competitive casting process.

She will co-star in the film with Leonardo DiCaprio, who will play Jay Gatsby, and Tobey Maguire, who is cast as Nick Carraway. Winning one of the most coveted roles in Hollywood is big enough excitement, but the way in which the actress found out she had the role is a story of its own:

Mulligan was on the reception line for The Fashion Council Awards in New York when she got the call on her cell phone from Luhrmann, just a few minutes ago. She burst into tears on the red carpet in front of Karl Lagerfield and Anna Wintour.

What did Luhrmann say to her on the phone? As he tells Deadline, "Hello, Daisy Buchanan."

For anyone having trouble picturing Mulligan in the role, Luhrmann provided Deadline with a photo of the actress in rehearsals:

Deadline

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