Meryl Streep turned down 'The Devil Wears Prada' to try to double her salary. It taught her a lesson about negotiating.

"I knew it was going to be a hit. The script was great. They called me up, and they made an offer, and I said, 'No. I'm not going to do it.' I wanted to see if I doubled my ask and they went right away and said, 'Sure.'"

"I thought, 'I'm 56. It took me this long to understand that I could do that.' They needed me, I felt."

"When Streep is absent from the screen, the interest factor plummets. Streep totally commands every scene."

"I wanted it, but if they didn't want to do that, I was OK."

Meryl Streep initially turned down the role in 'The Devil Wears Prada' to negotiate a higher salary, confident in the film's potential success. She recognized her worth at 56, stating, 'They needed me, I felt.' The film grossed $326 million worldwide, with critics praising Streep's performance as the highlight. Two decades later, she reprises her role in 'The Devil Wears Prada 2,' expected to debut with $80 million domestically and $180 million globally, continuing to receive acclaim for her portrayal.

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