Amanda Seyfried has recently revealed that she had to disconnect from reality in order to portray the infamous Elizabeth Holmes inThe Dropout. Holmes has become quite the public spectacle as of late after she was charged with four counts of fraud. She purposefully misled and lied to investors and the general public when she was trying to sell her ‘revolutionary’ technology that would become the foundation of her entire company, Theranos.
After being convicted, Holmes basically saw the entire career and stardom she had worked so hard to achieve disappear into thin air, within a single night. Before she was found guilty, Holmes was once declared the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire byForbesmagazine. However, her recent sentence and overall controversy have seemed to regain and pique the public’s interests all over again.The Dropoutseriesis based on the popular podcast of the same name that follows Holmes' rise to success and her eventual downfall. Holmes' story begins with her dropping out of Stanford, where she used her tuition money to fund and launch her blood-testing company.
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Theranos was supposedly groundbreaking due to the fact that it was meant to eliminate needles and allowed blood testing to be conducted with just a single prick of the thumb. Holmes' goal was to revolutionize health care, but her intentions lingered in deception. While sitting down withVarietyto discussepisode 8 of The Dropout, Seyfried shared that she had to distance and detach herself from reality as she knew it to play Holmes. She explained that due to the crippling realities of Holmes' actions being so intense, it made it very difficult to enjoy portraying her.
In order toplay Holmes inThe Dropout, Seyfried claimed she just had to “disconnect from the facts that this really happened.” She continued, “It’s weird territory when you’re playing a real person who did f**king real things that were not good.” Seyfried’s comments are valid, as it’s a completely different experience portraying someone who was an actual person - limiting her ability to tap into the fantasy and escapism that acting usually provides. It makes things even more complicated when the person being portrayed is a real-life criminal as well.
Morality questions come up, and the actress probably did have to end up wrestling with her conscience just due to the harsh nature of the script. Since its release,The Dropoutis currently at a solid 88%rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The series has not only gained the adoration of viewers but has also received critical acclaim.
The Dropoutis now available for streaming on Hulu.
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