Yahoo Movies The Devil Wears Prada star Adrian Grenier responds to viral villain theory
The Devil Wears Prada is a film that is still discussed to this day, partly because people can't decide which characters they like or not.
Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestly may be presented as the 'villain' of the piece, but people have also pointed out Anne Hathaway's Andy for either succumbing to the hollow fashion industry or for looking down on the fashion industry but continuing to do the job that multiple people would kill to have.
Andy's boyfriend Nate is another one people can't agree on. Some think he's trying to keep things down to Earth in their relationship, while others believe that he's selfish and is actually getting in the way of Andy's achievements.
Related: Deleted Devil Wears Prada scene changes Meryl Streep's character
Adrian Grenier, who played Nate in the film, has been convinced by the latter camp, telling Entertainment Weekly: "I didn't see some of the subtleties and the nuance of this character and what it represented in the film until the wisdom of the masses came online and started to push against the character and throw him under the bus, and I got flak.
"All those memes that came out were shocking to me. It hadn't occurred to me until I started to really think about it... in many ways he's very selfish and self-involved, it was all about him, he wasn't extending himself to support Andy in her career."
"At the end of the day, it's just a birthday, right?" he added, referring to the scene where Nate got very annoyed at Andy missing his birthday because of a work commitment. "It's not the end of the world.
"I might've been as immature as him at the time, so I personally couldn't see his shortcomings. But after time to reflect and much deliberation, I've come to realize the truth in that perspective.
"[Andy] needed more out of the world than Nate, and she was achieving it. He couldn't support her like she needed to because he was a fragile, wounded boy. There's a selfishness and self-centeredness in that, and I think Andy needed to be held by a man who was an adult," he added. "On behalf of all the Nates out there: Come on! Step it up!"
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