Joey King says she contacted Gypsy Rose Blanchardthe real-life theme of her hit Hulu series, The actsince Blanchard Release from prison in December.
During a new episode of Armchair specialist podcastthe 24-year-old actress opened up about everything from her new show, We were the lucky onesto your testing and filming experience The act.
While we talk about the inspiration for the series, which also starred Patricia Arquette, AnnaSophia Robb It is Chloe Sevignypodcast host Dax Shepard asked King if any of the real people in the story have reached out to her in the five years since the show became an overnight phenomenon.
“Gypsy texted me recently,” King shared casually. “We didn’t have any contact when we were filming the show, but since she was released she got in touch and we had a quick little exchange which was really cool.”
The series, which earned Arquette, 56, an Emmy and gave King his first nomination, followed the true events of Blanchard (King) and her then-boyfriend, Nicholas “Nick” Godejohn (Calum Worthy) plotting to kill her mother (Arquette ) after discovering that he suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a rare disorder in which a guardian exaggerates or induces the illness in a child in search of attention and sympathy.
In real life, Blanchard was released from prison in December, seven years after pleading guilty in 2016 to the second-degree murder of his motherDee Dee Blanchard.
King told the podcast hosts that while her portrayal of Blanchard received critical praise and award recognition, it could have ended up entirely in the hands of another actress.
“I was very lucky. I auditioned for The actI wasn’t offered this role,” she shared with Shepard and her co-host, Monica Padman.
She added: “I didn’t do the voice of Gypsy in the audition – they didn’t want anyone else to do it. As soon as I got the part, I thought, ‘Guys, I think we should do this’.”
Blanchard’s voice, which is distinctly high-pitched, was a “huge part of the personality” for King, who said it was always linked to the fact that Blanchard had been “infantilized his entire life” due to Munchausen syndrome by proxy.
In March, ET I spoke to the king at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty and asked if she had been in contact with Blanchard and what she thought of his release. The actress, showing compassion for the woman she played on the small screen, said that when it comes to what the ex-convict should do next, the world is her oyster.
“Gypsy is free – she can do whatever she wants,” King said. “I’m excited for her and her journey and everything it means for her… I’m happy for her. I’m so happy for her.”
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