Was Nate (Adrian Grenier) the real villain of The Devil Wears Prada? That's been the debate ever since the dramedy film hit theaters in 2006.
In an exclusive chat with E! News, Grenier weighed in on the negative reaction to his character—and his answer may surprise you! According to the Entourage alum, he feels "it's healthy" that people question Nate's behavior, especially his failure to support Andy (Anne Hathaway) during her intense job.
"Philosophically, I always believe it's good to challenge, you know, standard expectations [or] the status quo," he said. "So, to just blindly think that Nate is innocent and he's just 'poor me,' I think it's important because, I think in many ways, there are a lot of 'poor me' men out there who aren't stepping up and standing up to take care of, you know, their business. I can understand why the push back."
This insight comes over two months after Grenier reunited with Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci for Entertainment Weekly's celebration of the 15th anniversary of the fashionable film.
Of course, since then, Grenier has taken on another controversial role: accused abuser and kidnapping victim Nick Brewer in Netflix's Clickbait. This time around, the 45-year-old actor expected a negative reaction to his character.
"They're gonna hate me," he noted with a slight smirk. "They are going to wonder whether or not they should, and then, hopefully, I'll be redeemed. But, that's part of the ride."
Although he was excited to tackle this complex part, Grenier admitted that it was "uncomfortable to have to be so vulnerable and go against my instinct to be liked."
In Clickbait, Grenier plays a seemingly wholesome family man who ends up at the center of a sensationalized kidnapping. In a ransom video, Nick is seen holding a sign that says, "I abuse women. At 5 million views, I die."
While Nick's wife Sophie (Betty Gabriel) and sister Pia (Zoe Kazan) are determined to find him, they soon learn that he may not be the man they thought he was. For those who've yet to tune in, Grenier encouraged, "Have a look and you decide for yourself—but yeah promise to watch until the end."
For all of this and more, including how Gabriel prepared for her role, watch the exclusive interview above.
Clickbait is streaming now on Netflix.