8. Sasha Pieterse, who would go on to play Alison DiLaurentis, was this closure to land the role of Hanna before the producers found out she was only 12.
"I knew what Hanna was going to do and I was like, 'Do we really want a 12 year old to do these things?'" King recalls in an interview with Variety. "But also, they can only work a certain number of hours before the age of 16. That's when we just said she's Alison. She's been reading with a few girls like Alison, she was several years younger than all of them, but she scared everyone in a good way. "
9. Ashley benson was the last of four lead actors, King revealing to Variety, "I remember she came over for her audition and she was in tears because she was on a show called Eastwick and she just found out that it was canceled, and so she came to this audition. "
King continued, "We knew we wanted a blonde for this role because it was one of the last roles to play and other than Alison, we didn't have a blonde on the show. We couldn't. find the right person and she arrived... There's just something magical going on with her and the way the camera captures her and those eyes. We all knew in the room that we found our Hanna. "