That's So Raven Cast Reunites on The View and Raven-Symoné Reveals Some Major Casting Shakeups—Watch Now!

Disney Channel's Anneliese van der Pol and Orlando Brown appear on ABC's The View

By Zach Johnson Aug 14, 2015 5:23 PMTags

Instead of looking into the future, Raven-Symoné is looking at the past.

That's So Raven was retooled and renamed after Disney Channel decided the actress should play the lead character rather than the sidekick. In fact, when The View co-host reunited with Orlando Brown and Anneliese van der Pol on Friday, she explained how the original show could have been very different than it was.

"Anneliese actually didn't get the part of Chelsea at the very beginning. Somebody else had the part," Raven revealed. She declined to name the actress who was originally cast as Chelsea Daniels, so co-host Michelle Collins decided to have fun with the former co-stars. "Who was it?" Collins asked. "Was it Angelina Jolie?"

"They just wanted somebody more beautiful than Angelina Jolie," van der Pol laughed, "so of course they went with me." Brown joked that the role was meant for Miley Cyrus, who later starred in her own Disney Channel show, Hannah Montana.

Were it not for Raven and her star power, van der Pol might never have been hired. "I remember when were in the audition room...I was like, 'I would rather play best friends with her than the girl you guys picked,'" the actress remembered.

That's So Raven ran for three seasons from 2003 to 2007. The series was nominated in 2005 and 2007 for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children's Programming. It also inspired a spinoff, Cory in the House, starring Kyle Massey as Raven's brother, Cory.

What else did the cast want to reveal about That's So Raven?

"It was actually named a different show altogether," Raven said.

"I think it was called Absolutely Psychic at the time," van der Pol added.

"That was when I played the best friend, not the psychic, and then they changed it over," Raven said. Even now, she still loves the show. "We had a really good time period. We captured stories that were touching to the people that were watching us. We talked about topics in a funny/serious way that you can relate to," she said, "and when you can relate to something, then more and more people talk about it."