Rita Moreno Says She Almost Turned Down Role In West Side Story Remake: 'I Don't Do Cameos'

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Rita Moreno almost wasn't in the new West Side Story.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, published Wednesday, the 90-year-old actress said she initially declined when director Steven Spielberg offered her a new role in his remake. The director, 75, asked if she'd be interested in playing the part of Valentina, the widow of shop owner Doc (who famously intervened before the Jets could attack Anita), who would fill his shoes in the new movie.

"I'm so flattered, thank you, but I don't do cameos," Moreno recalled of her reply. "That's not the kind of director I figured he would be."

However, the star (who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1962 for her role as Anita in the original West Side Story) agreed to sign on after learning the spot would be much more than a brief appearance. Written into the script with a rich backstory, Valentina would be featured in multiple scenes and have a musical solo.

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20th Century Studios / Courtesy Everett

"There's a whole 30-page biography of Valentina that I wrote for Rita," screenwriter Tony Kushner told THR.

With that support, Moreno joined the cast, and voiced her pride in how the project turned out.

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"This is one of the few times in my life that I love myself in something," the actress said. "And it's all due to Tony. I actually looked forward to my scenes when I was watching the movie, because he gave her so much dignity, and all the stuff that I've dreamed of for a hundred years."

West Side Story opened in theaters nationwide on Dec. 10, starring Rachel Zegler as Maria opposite Ansel Elgort as Tony, the two star-crossed lovers who fall on opposite sides of a forbidden romance in 1957 New York.

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In conversation with THR, Ariana DeBose, who stepped into Moreno's former role of Anita, said that the icon invited her to lunch after she was nervous when they first met.

"She calmed me down and gave me the space to feel my feelings," DeBose, 31, recalled. "She was like, 'It's OK. It's a lot. You passed the audition. You got the part. There's a reason for that.' "