<p id=”par-1_44″>Picture this, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/younger-star-sutton-foster-couldnt-pick-josh-charles-liza-fabulous-options.html/”><em>Younger</em></a><em> </em>fans: Debbi Mazar, the actor who played Maggie Amato, as Liza Miller’s (Sutton Foster) boss. Miriam Shor ultimately landed the part of Diana Trout but Mazar originally auditioned for it. How Mazar ended up playing Maggie on the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tv/?swcfpc=1″>TV series</a>, ahead. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-mazar-initially-auditioned-for-the-part-of-diana-trout-on-younger”>Mazar initially auditioned for the part of Diana Trout on ‘Younger’ </h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image aligncenter size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Miriam-Shor-Sutton-Foster-Debi-Mazar-and-Hilary-Duff.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Miriam Shor, Sutton Foster, Debi Mazar, and Hilary Duff” class=”wp-image-3779155″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Miriam Shor, Sutton Foster, Debi Mazar, and Hilary Duff | Esther Horvath/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_43″>Before Mazar took on the role of Liza Miller’s (Sutton Foster) longtime friend, Maggie Amato, on <em>Younger</em>, the now-60-year-old actor auditioned to play Diana Trout. Yes, Liza’s demanding, necklace-loving boss at the fictional Empirical Press, who has a fondness for singing show tunes. </p>
<p id=”par-3_24″>Speaking at the 2016 ATX Festival, Mazar talked about playing “tougher” characters, which is what led her to audition for the role of Diana. </p>
<p id=”par-4_64″>“You know, typecasting is brilliant because it means you always work,” she said ( <a href=”https://www.tvfanatic.com/two-seasons-into-younger-liza-is-ruining-my-liza-josh-shipping/” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>TV Fanatic</a>). “I think I’ve played a couple of tough characters that people have just loved, and that just sort of happened to me. But also, early on in my career, I had a few roles where I was softer. But I guess the tougher ones kind of took over.” </p>
<p id=”par-5_32″>“In fact, when I first came in to meet with Darren, I was coming in to read for Miriam Shor’s role, Diana. I thought, this is a little like Shauna in <em>Entourage</em>.” </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-mazar-got-really-excited-to-play-maggie-amato-a-little-bit-different-nbsp”>Mazar got ‘really excited’ to play Maggie Amato: ‘a little bit different’ </h2>
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<p id=”par-6_62″>So how did Mazar end up playing Liza’s artist friend and Brooklyn roommate? When she went to her audition “they said, you know what, scratch that, come in for Maggie.” The switch “excited” Mazar because it gave her the chance to explore a different character than she was used to. At the same time, she was able to maintain her own “aura.” </p>
<p id=”par-7_62″>“I was really excited because I don’t often get to be the girl with the big heart, the friend. And this was an opportunity to be a little bit different,” she explained. “You know, I still have brains, I’m still smart, I’m still urban. But we’re shooting in New York. So I don’t really have to lose my aura, lose my accent.” </p>
<p id=”par-8_17″>“It’s refreshing for me to play a different type of character, especially in a series,” Mazar added. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-she-loves-miriam-shor-s-performance-on-younger”>She loves Miriam Shor’s performance on ‘Younger’ </h2>
<p id=”par-9_25″>Mazar went on to praise her <em>Younger</em> co-star’s portrayal of Diana. “She really is transformative and delivers a ba-dum-bum [snaps] line,” Mazar said of Shor. </p>
<p id=”par-10_48″>The two had never worked together previously because, as Mazar explained, she was on the West Coast living in Los Angeles, Calif., while Shor “did a lot of theater.” That didn’t stop them from having fun during filming though. “Hanging out with her is a trip,” Mazar said. </p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-where-did-younger-leave-diana-and-maggie-nbsp”>Where did ‘Younger’ leave Diana and Maggie? </h2>
<p id=”par-11_36″>When <em>Younger </em><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/younger-star-sutton-fosters-heart-broke-series-finale-moment.html/”>ended in 2021</a> both Maggie and Diana were entering new chapters of their lives. Diana had married Enzo (Chris Tardio) and decided to cash in her many vacation days to extend her honeymoon abroad. </p>
<p id=”par-12_58″>As for Maggie, her art career hit a new high when a respected critic praised her pieces on show at a local dive bar. Cass DeKennessy, the person who brought Maggie to what initially looked like her career rock bottom and the Dean of The Arts College of New York, turned out to be a new love interest. </p>
<p id=”par-13_9″>All seven seasons of <em>Younger </em>are streaming on Netflix. </p>