The celebrated actor had a small but memorable role in the beloved original film.

By David Craig

Published: Saturday, 08 July 2023 at 12:00 am


Sandra Oh has expressed interest in reprising the role of Vice Principal Gupta in a third The Princess Diaries movie, which is currently in development at Disney.

The original film followed high school student Mia Thermopolis (Anne Hathaway), who shockingly discovered that she was the heir to the throne of a fictional European nation called Genovia.

Julia Andrews co-starred as her grandmother, the Queen, with Oh taking a small supporting role as the Vice Principal of Mia’s school, who is rather flustered by the sudden arrival of royalty.

Despite her brief screen time, Gupta is a character that has endured in the imaginations of Princess Diaries fans, with Oh’s spot-on line delivery truly standing the test of time. Nevertheless, she did not feature in the 2004 sequel.

With a third film in development, Entertainment Weekly asked Oh if she would be open to reprising the role.

“I am ready for the Queen,” she began. “Call me! I’m dying to see how Gupta has moved up in the world.”

The actor, whose star has skyrocketed since The Princess Diaries thanks to roles in Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve, also shared a surprising story about encountering an unlikely fan.

“I remember it was like 2015, I was walking down the street in Chicago, and there [was] a young person, who at that point in 2015, was not my usual demographic… a college-aged, straight white guy,” she recalled.

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“He passed me and then he ran back up to me and did the line: ‘Uh huh. Uh huh. Uh huh. The Queen is coming.’ I was like, ‘Who is this 20-year-old frat boy?’ He was coming up to me doing that line.”

The Princess Diaries 3 is still in the early stages of development with no returning cast confirmed, although fans are hoping to see a reunion for Hathaway and Andrews at the very least.

Oh will next be seen in an as-yet-untitled comedy film where she’ll play the highly-strung sister to Awkwafina (Marvel’s Shang-Chi), while she will also appear in HBO’s upcoming darkly comic Vietnam War drama The Sympathiser.

Princess Diaries is available to stream on Disney Plus. Sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 for a year. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.

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