Mandy Moore has shared that Macaulay Culkin introduced her to a White Russian while filming 2004’s Saved, when she was 18—part of a tight-knit cast that treated the set like “summer camp,” even with a bit of underage drinking.
Mandy Moore was 18 when she walked onto the set of Saved, the 2004 film that would end up feeling more like a group experience than a typical Hollywood shoot.
On a recent episode of “Shut Up Evan. ” Moore talked with host Evan Ross Katz about that time—starting with how she landed the role in the first place. She replaced Anne Hathaway in Saved after Hathaway dropped out. Moore said she’d just finished Princess Diaries and A Walk to Remember. and the switch felt exciting because the projects had brought her “so much fun” with other young performers. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is like summer camp!’” she recalled.
From the beginning, the cast leaned into the energy. Moore described how her Saved co-stars—including Jena Malone. Patrick Fugit. Eva Amurri. and Culkin—created what she called a “fun. tight-knit environment” on set. She said it made her feel like she’d earned her way into a social group with “cool kids. ” even as they were making movies. “I was like. ‘Oh. I get to sit at the cool kids table with these young Hollywood kids that are making really cool choices. and they’re a part of really great films. ’” she said.
For Moore, the moment that stuck around involved a drink. When she was asked about what Culkin introduced her to while filming. she said it was one of his favorite cocktails: a White Russian. Moore explained that it was Culkin—“Mac — Macaulay”—who introduced her and “all of us” to the cocktail. “I was like, ‘Milk and alcohol?. This is made for me, I love this!. I mean, it’s perfect. This is like ice cream, this is fantastic!’” she said.
There was, Moore acknowledged, “a little bit of underage drinking” happening among the young cast members. Even so, she said they didn’t run into any serious trouble. Culkin, who was of legal drinking age in Canada at the time, took the opportunity to share one of his go-to cocktails with everyone.
Moore also looked back on what it meant for her career. When she was offered the role of Hilary Faye Stockard. she said she loved the script and the character—calling the story “really irreverent and funny”—and she believed it would “move the needle.” She added that the character felt “wholly different” from who she was. and she thought the project could lead to more opportunities. “I was like, ‘Oh this is a stretch, and this is unlike anything I’ve done before. So hopefully. very intentionally. this’ll open up a door to other projects. ’ like people seeing me and regarding me in a different light. ” Moore said.
She summed it up as “a crazy, crazy life-changing experience,” the kind of moment where a role changes not just what you do next, but how you imagine your place in the industry.
Mandy Moore Macaulay Culkin Saved White Russian cocktail Shut Up Evan Evan Ross Katz Anne Hathaway Jena Malone Patrick Fugit Eva Amurri Hilary Faye Stockard
White Russians on a movie set?? lol Hollywood is wild.
I mean she was 18 so technically fine, but still like… why are people acting like that’s normal. Saved is such a random movie to hear this about.
Wait so she replaced Anne Hathaway and then also Macaulay Culkin is handing out drinks to everyone? Kinda sounds like MeToo territory but it’s like 2004 so people just forgot? Also White Russian is coffee mix right? I can’t even picture it lol.
“Summer camp” vibe until there’s underage drinking… I don’t know, this whole story makes it seem cute but like her being 18 doesn’t automatically erase the fact that other younger people were around, right? And they’re saying she was excited to be at the “cool kids table” like it wasn’t a job. Hollywood really loves romanticizing bad choices.