It’s been 35 years since Melissa Joan Hart stepped into her iconic role as the titular character in “Clarissa Explains It All.”
However, there was one reason she almost wasn’t cast in the show – and one unlikely source of support that ended up landing her the role, People revealed.
Melissa Explains It All: Why She Almost Wasn’t Cast As “Clarissa”
It’s difficult to imagine anyone but Hart as Clarissa. But at the Tampa Bay Comic Con, she explained that she almost wasn’t cast because of one simple reason.
“With Clarissa, I was auditioning for that part, and they really didn’t want a blonde,” she revealed.
“They said, ‘We do not want a blonde for this part.’ That was their big thing. The executive producer was like, ‘I cannot have a blonde play this smart girl.'”
But luckily, there was someone who believed in Hart for the role.
“Someone had seen me, I was doing a Broadway play at the time,” she recalled.
It turned out the producer’s veterinarian had seen her onstage and recommended her for the role, and she was permitted to audition for the part.
“He let me come and audition and then he just kept liking my audition, and I went back three times.”
“I Had To Convince The Showrunner That I Was Cool,” Says Hart
GettyHart thought she had blown her audition after she mentioned she wasn’t a fan of a popular boy band at the time.
“At one point, he asked me, ‘Are you a fan of New Kids on the Block?’… I said, ‘Uh, I hate them,'” she admitted.
“And then I was like, ‘Oh no! He’s in the industry. He probably knows them… he’s probably their uncle. I definitely didn’t get this part.'”
However, this worked out in her favour. “It turned out he really liked that I didn’t like the trendy boy band that was big at the moment,” she said.
“I had to convince him I was cool. I had to convince the showrunner that I was cool enough to play Clarissa, and once I did that, he trusted me with other choices for her.”
Melissa Joan Hart’s First Onscreen Kiss Was With Another ’90s Heartthrob
In February 2026, Hart reminisced on her first onscreen kiss, which was with none other than fellow ’90s star James van der Beek.
In a tribute to the late actor, Hart posted a throwback photo of the two onscreen.
“He was truly a nice guy, a great father, wonderful actor and will always be my first onscreen kiss when he guest starred on #ClarissaExplainsItAll,” she wrote.
Entertainment Weekly notes the role was his first onscreen credit.
