Kate Hudson has no regrets about turning down the role of Mary Jane Watson in Spider-Man.
The actress, 46, addressed her decision on the Monday, December 22, edition of Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, confirming, “yes, I did. And now that I look back, it’s one of those things where I’m like, ‘You know, that would’ve been nice to be in the Spider-Man movie.’”
“But at the same time,” Hudson continued, “I did a movie called [The] Four Feathers, I got to meet Heath Ledger who became a very good friend, and I got an experience that I would have never had. So, part of me is like, ‘Life happens exactly the way it’s supposed to,’ and so I’m grateful for it. But I do look at that [and] I’m like, ‘Aw, it would’ve been fun to be her.’”
When Cohen, 57, reminded Hudson that “it wasn’t just one movie, it was a few,” she smiled, rolled her eyes and replied, “No, I know, I know.”
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Kirsten Dunst ended up playing Mary Jane in the blockbuster superhero franchise during the 2000s. She and her love interest, Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), otherwise known as Spider-Man, shared an iconic upside-down kiss.
On Watch What Happens, Cohen read Hudson a viewer’s question asking if she regretted not starring opposite Maguire, 50, in the first of the films circa 2002.
“You know, it’s so funny,” Hudson responded, “when people say these things, it doesn’t feel good to talk about it because the people who are in the movie are the right people for [the part], and your circumstances in life happen the way they happen.”
Hudson had chosen to star in the 2002 war drama The Four Feathers, portraying Ethne Eustace, the fiancée of Ledger’s character, British officer Harry Faversham. The film, directed by Shekhar Kapur, made $30 million worldwide.
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Released the same year, Spider-Man grossed a whopping $811 million at the global box office.
Hudson, despite missing out on such a money-maker, can proudly say that she’s appeared in crowd-pleasing films with perhaps greater cultural staying power: There’s the 2000 classic Almost Famous, where she earned an Oscar nomination as the wise, winsome “band-aid” Penny Lane. And many rom-com fans still consider How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days — in which Hudson played plucky magazine writer Andie Anderson — among the genre’s greatest hits.
Hudson’s latest film, Song Sung Blue, has garnered warm reviews and earned her a 2026 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Musical or Comedy. She and costar Hugh Jackman portray Claire and Mike Sardina, who fronted the Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder. In early December, the stars jointly won a Gotham Independent Film Award for Musical Tribute.
Hudson and Jackman, 57, stepped on stage to Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” with Hudson yelling, “So good!” along with the track as she began her speech.
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Hudson called performing alongside Jackman “one of the great joys of my career,” noting, “Music has always been the great narrator of my life. I don’t know where I’d be without it.”
