Reese Witherspoon said four words to rising star Lexi Minetree, it changed everything

Exclusive: Playing a young Elle Woods is no easy feat, a role first famously portrayed by Oscar winning actress Reese Witherspoon long before prequel Elle hit screens.

So when newcomer Lexi Minetree, 25, was hand-picked to lead the new Legally Blonde prequel series, she felt the weight of the world watching. That is, until four words from Witherspoon, 50, changed everything.

“Elle is someone who means so much to people and I knew I was going to be put under the microscope,” Minetree confessed to nine.com.au.

At 25 years old, Minetree is the same age Witherspoon was when Legally Blonde first came out in 2001.

But any doubts and early criticisms Minetree was hit with, were quickly overshadowed by a moment shared with Witherspoon, who serves as an executive producer on the series.

“A week into filming season one, Reese sent me a text,” the rising star recalled. Witherspoon had just seen the dailies (the raw footage), she said: “You captured her perfectly”.

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At that moment Minetree knew: “I was gonna make it. I got her stamp of approval.”

From there, nothing else mattered but to have fun and truly “take it all in”. It’s impossible not to when you’re immersed into the pink glittery world of Legally Blonde.

The young star spent the next four months filming the prequel series, set six years before the first Legally Blonde film.

The highly anticipated series, set in 1995, follows teenage Elle Woods as a bright and bubbly highschool student adjusting to life from sunny LA to sombre Seattle.

“Reese very graciously, gave me so much grace to find this character myself,” Minetree revealed.

Minetree has said she never wanted to imitate Witherspoon, but rather share her own take on the iconic character.

“Reese would give me advice, and she was always there, but she really trusted me with this role,” she said. “Which really means something because she is Elle Woods. It’s one of her most iconic characters she’s ever played.”

“So getting her trust meant a lot.”

If only early critics had that much trust in the series. When a first-look trailer of the series was released, critics questioned whether the prequel made sense in the Legally Blonde universe.

As fans have pointed out online, a huge reason Elle struggles to fit into Harvard is because she knows nothing but sunny LA, right?

“I understand why people have criticisms because it means that they care about this character, and they don’t want her legacy to be tarnished,” Minetree responded.

“But I kind of disagree … in the sense that [Elle] struggles in Harvard because people judge her, not because of her own capabilities.

“If anything, she’s very confident the entire way through. And in life, we go through many different challenges, we’re not faced with just one. It would be great if we only struggled once in life, but that’s not really how the world works.”

Minetree’s performance in the series encapsulates Elle Wood’s fighting spirit – that’s what makes Elle the perfect backstory, something Minetree can agree with.

“To me, this series is a good way to show maybe how Elle got that confidence, and honestly, it’s just a fun show,” she smiled.

So, if she does have one message to critics it’s this: “Guys, come on. Loosen up a bit, have some fun!”

“We have some good laughs and there’s a lot of heart there too. So I think if people give it a chance, I think they’ll really enjoy it.”

“Elle has so much heart about her, you can’t help but love her even more.”

Season 1 of Elle is out now on Prime Video. Season 2 is coming soon.