It feels like the debate about who the real villain is in The Devil Wears Prada has been waging for decades, but we might've finally just gotten official confirmation from the people who know best — the stars of the film itself!
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To celebrate 15 years of a movie so iconic, words can't do it justice, the cast and crew of The Devil Wears Prada reunited for an oral history with Entertainment Weekly and, of course, talk of the debate soon came up.
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Adrian Grenier, who played Andy's boyfriend Nate, admitted that he was initially puzzled by the idea that his character was the villain of the movie, but eventually came around to the idea as he got older.
20th Century Fox
"When that whole thing first came out, I couldn't get my head around it," he explained. "I didn't understand it. Perhaps it was because I wasn't mature as a man, just as Nate probably could've used a little growing up. I was just as immature as him at the time, so I couldn't see his shortcomings."
"But, after taking time to reflect and much deliberation online, I can realize the truth in that perspective. Nate hadn't grown up, but Andy had," he went on. "She needed more out of life, and she was achieving it. He couldn't support her like she needed because he was a fragile, wounded boy."
Adrian then hilariously added: "On behalf of all the Nates out there: Come on! Step it up!"
As for Anne Hathaway, she was a little more sympathetic toward Nate as a character, pointing out that although he was a bit of a "brat" about everything, she could understand where he was coming from.
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"I don't think everybody's being completely honest with themselves about their own poutiness. Nate was pouty on his birthday because his girlfriend wasn't there!" she said. "In hindsight, I'm sure he wishes he made a different choice, but who doesn't? We've all been brats at different points. We all just need to live, let live, and do better!"
As it turns out, the film was originally going to have a different, "more conventional" ending that would see Andy and Nate run off into the sunset together instead of the more open-ended scene that was finally used.
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If you remember, Andy and Nate meet up right at the end of the movie to discuss everything that's happened. Although it's not confirmed if they get back together or not, they do leave things on a more positive, hopeful note.
"The movie used to end with a slightly more upbeat scene with Nate, more of a reconciliation," screenwriterAline Brosh McKenna said, but she went on to add,"They're so young and they're choosing spouses for their life, but we know that 25-year-olds are not in that position."
And it was actually Anne Hathaway's idea for them not to kiss during that scene, as she thought the pair had "too much history" and were no longer at that point in their relationship.
20th Century Fox
"She was right," Adrian said. "We forwent that intimacy for something more familial."
You can read the full oral history of The Devil Wears Prada right here.
Ben Henry is a breaking reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in London.
Contact Ben Henry at ben.henry@buzzfeed.com.
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