Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway turned down the lead role in the movie adaptation of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ as she was fed up with playing a “pretty girl in a fairy dress.”

The 27-year-old actress was asked to star as Alice in the upcoming fantasy film but opted instead to play the White Queen because she had previously played a pretty protagonist in ‘The Princess Diaries’ movies which launched her career, GQ magazine reported.

“The studio had the Alice script a long time ago and I was approached back then for the part of Alice. I considered it, but felt, what with The Princess Diaries, that I had been there, done that sort of pretty-girl-in-a-fairy-dress role. I told the studio, however, that if they found a director eventually, I would be interested later in playing the White Queen,” Hathaway said.

Based on Lewis Carroll’s classic tale of the young girl who embarks upon an exciting adventure in Wonderland, the Tim Burton-directed movie will be released on March 5.

“When Tim came on board he had the cast he wanted and, of course, that didn’t include me. But the other marked actress had scheduling conflicts, so the studio piped up and put me forward,” she said.

“I talked on the phone with Tim and he really liked my take. I wanted the Queen to be a cross between Debbie Harry, Greta Garbo, David Bowie, with (a) a little bit of the work of Dan Flavin thrown in for good measure,” Hathaway added.

Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Depp plays the role of Mad Hatter in the film while Alice’s character is played by rising Australian star Mia Wasikowska.