Rebel Wilson reveals she knew her directing future

The Deb is the directorial debut of Rebel Wilson, and the actress says she always knew a musical would be her first film as a director.

Before the premiere of the movie at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, The Hustle star said, “Basically, it could only have been a musical, I think, because of the amount of work and passion and love you have to put in, I think for me it could only be a musical.” 

Recalling the moment she fell for the genre, Rebel told People, "It’s a bit of a long story,” adding, “but our dogs were the stars of my family and our dog had auditioned for a musical called 42nd Street."

"And the dog went to the call-backs and was supposed to run over to the actress on command.”

But, to the contrary, the pup relieved himself onstage, and “we didn't get the job,” she remembered. 

Ultimately, the pet won the role and the Perfect Pitch alum recounted to sit in the 42nd Street production audience to see the animal's performance.

Going there, the 44-year-old said, made her close to the genre. "And so as a 14-year-old, a girl going through puberty and just not having a place in the world, going through a tough time in high school and stuff."

"I saw this musical — this singing and dancing and joy and light and awesomeness — and ever since then, I've just loved musicals."

“So I thought in order to take me out of the acting game for a while and to direct, it had to be a musical,” she continued. “And I thought it had to be Australian, because it's very authentic to me and my background. So hence, The Deb.”