Luke Wilson has said he was initially not very interested in playing Emmett Richmond in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde, despite the role later becoming one of his most recognisable. The admission highlights how a part he viewed cautiously ended up contributing to a film that became a lasting pop-culture success.

Wilson played Emmett, the supportive lawyer who helps Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods prove herself at Harvard Law School. Legally Blonde was a commercial hit, grossing more than $141 million worldwide from an estimated $18 million budget, and it later inspired a sequel, musical and forthcoming prequel series.