<Ul> <Li> Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Edna Turnblad, an optimistic, overweight teenage girl who loves dancing; Tracy's racial acceptance leads her to become an active supporter for the integration of The Corny Collins Show . Hairspray was Blonsky's debut as a professional actress . </Li> <Li> John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Tracy's mother and laundry business owner, who is agoraphobic and ashamed of her obesity . Travolta's casting as Edna continued the tradition of having a man in drag portray the character, going back to the original 1988 film, which featured drag queen Divine as Edna and at Hairspray's Broadway version, which featured Harvey Fierstein as Edna . Executives at New Line Cinema originally expected the part to be filled by an actor accustomed to playing comic roles, tossing around names such as Robin Williams, Steve Martin, and Tom Hanks . However, Travolta was aggressively sought after by producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron for this role because he had starred as Danny Zuko in Grease, the second most successful movie musical to date, beaten only by Mamma Mia! . </Li> <Li> Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, the manager of station WYZT and a racist and sizeist . Velma is interested in keeping her daughter Amber in the spotlight and The Corny Collins Show segregated . Hairspray was the first film featuring Pfeiffer to be released in five years . Stardust, also featuring Pfeiffer, was shot before Hairspray, but released three weeks afterwards . The peculiarity of Pfeiffer and Travolta appearing onscreen together (Travolta starred in Grease, Pfeiffer in Grease 2) was not lost on the production staff; Travolta requested that Pfeiffer play the part of the villainess . </Li> <Li> Christopher Walken as Wilbur Turnblad, Tracy's father, the easygoing proprietor of the "Hardy - Har Hut" joke shop below the Turnblad family's apartment . John Travolta had asked that Walken be considered for the part, and he eventually beat out Billy Crystal and Jim Broadbent for the role of Wilbur . </Li> <Li> Amanda Bynes as Penny Lou Pingleton, Tracy's best friend, a sheltered girl who falls in love with Seaweed, despite the efforts of her racist, devoutly religious and stern mother, Prudy Pingleton . A young actress famous for appearances on Nickelodeon TV shows and in feature films, Bynes was one of the few movie stars cast among the teen roles . </Li> <Li> Queen Latifah as Maybelle "Motormouth" Stubbs, a Baltimore rhythm and blues radio DJ who hosts "Negro Day" on The Corny Collins Show . Maybelle also runs a record shop on North Avenue . Queen Latifah appeared in the successful Zadan / Meron film musical Chicago, and worked under Adam Shankman's direction in Bringing Down the House . She beat out soul legend Aretha Franklin for the role of Maybelle . </Li> <Li> James Marsden as Corny Collins, the host of The Corny Collins Show; his politically progressive attitudes lead him to fight his show's imposed segregation . Corny Collins is based upon Baltimore TV personality, Buddy Deane, who hosted an eponymous local teen dance show in the late 1950s and early 1960s . James Marsden beat out both Joey McIntyre and X-Men co-star Hugh Jackman for the part . </Li> <Li> Brittany Snow as Amber Von Tussle, Velma's bratty daughter and the lead female dancer on The Corny Collins Show . Amber becomes Tracy's enemy when Tracy threatens both Amber's chances of winning the "Miss Teenage Hairspray" crown and Amber's relationship with her boyfriend, Link. Snow previously worked with Shankman in The Pacifier . Hayden Panettiere was also considered for the part of Amber, but was decided against in part because of her then - upcoming work with the NBC television series Heroes . </Li> <Li> Zac Efron as Link Larkin, Amber's boyfriend and the lead male dancer on The Corny Collins Show . Link is a singer who becomes more attracted to Tracy . The character is based in part upon Elvis Presley . Efron, a popular teen actor who played Troy Bolton in the Disney Channel TV film High School Musical, was initially thought by Shankman to be "too Disney". Shankman's sister, executive producer Jennifer Gibgot, convinced her brother to cast Efron, believing that the teen star would draw a substantial teen crowd . </Li> <Li> Elijah Kelley as Seaweed J. Stubbs, Maybelle's son, a skilled dancer who teaches Tracy some dance moves and falls in love with her friend, Penny . Kelley, a relative newcomer to film, overcame other auditioners and several popular R&B stars for the part of Seaweed . </Li> <Li> Allison Janney as Prudence "Prudy" Pingleton, Penny's mother, a Christian fundamentalist whose strict parenting keeps Penny from experiencing social life . Her husband is serving a prison sentence for an unspecified crime . After having tied her daughter to her bed, Prudy is horrified to see that her daughter has broken out and is on TV, kissing Seaweed . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Edna Turnblad, an optimistic, overweight teenage girl who loves dancing; Tracy's racial acceptance leads her to become an active supporter for the integration of The Corny Collins Show . Hairspray was Blonsky's debut as a professional actress . </Li> <Li> John Travolta as Edna Turnblad, Tracy's mother and laundry business owner, who is agoraphobic and ashamed of her obesity . Travolta's casting as Edna continued the tradition of having a man in drag portray the character, going back to the original 1988 film, which featured drag queen Divine as Edna and at Hairspray's Broadway version, which featured Harvey Fierstein as Edna . Executives at New Line Cinema originally expected the part to be filled by an actor accustomed to playing comic roles, tossing around names such as Robin Williams, Steve Martin, and Tom Hanks . However, Travolta was aggressively sought after by producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron for this role because he had starred as Danny Zuko in Grease, the second most successful movie musical to date, beaten only by Mamma Mia! . </Li> <Li> Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle, the manager of station WYZT and a racist and sizeist . Velma is interested in keeping her daughter Amber in the spotlight and The Corny Collins Show segregated . Hairspray was the first film featuring Pfeiffer to be released in five years . Stardust, also featuring Pfeiffer, was shot before Hairspray, but released three weeks afterwards . The peculiarity of Pfeiffer and Travolta appearing onscreen together (Travolta starred in Grease, Pfeiffer in Grease 2) was not lost on the production staff; Travolta requested that Pfeiffer play the part of the villainess . </Li>

Who plays tracy's mom in the original hairspray