Amanda Seyfried was first offered the role of Elizabeth Holmes in “The Dropout,” she wasn’t sure if she should take it. “I don’t think I’ve ever talked about this,” the actor told Variety after her Power of Women photo shoot, “but my one fear was that I was like, ‘Am I going to have a target on my back?
How protected are we, as a show? Are there people who don’t want this to get made?’”If that sounds too paranoid, you probably haven’t seen “The Dropout.” Hulu’s breakout limited series follows the spectacular rise and fall of Holmes, the founder of a billion-dollar blood testing company that was eventually revealed to be an elaborate fraud.
And as the series details in its thrilling final episodes, Holmes and her partner Sunny Balwani (played by Naveen Andrews) made sure to suffocate any pushback with NDAs, private security, and outright threats.
So, it’s safe to say that Seyfried’s initial concerns weren’t exactly misplaced. “I’ve been talking about this show for so long, and I’m proud of it in terms of the art we created and our version of events,” she emphasizes. “But then sometimes there’s a moment of, ‘Ah, shit, let me not forget that these are real people.’”Seyfried’s performance in her most physically challenging and fascinating role to date immediately launched her career to a whole new level. “It’s like a completely new world for me,” she says, sounding awed even over the phone on her way back up to her Catskills home. “I know it’s rare, and might not happen again.
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