Why Elle Fanning Never Reached Out to Michelle Carter Before ‘The Girl From Plainville’: It Didn’t Feel ‘Appropriate’
variety.comEmily Longeretta Elle Fanning has grown up on screen, starring in dozens of movies since her film debut two decades ago. Starting in 2020, she’s gained acclaim as Empress Catherine II in Hulu comedy “The Great.” But two weeks after wrapping production on Season 3, she dove into a much more serious project, Hulu’s “The Girl From Plainville,” playing another real person: Michelle Carter, the teen who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for encouraging her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, to end his life.The case played out in the media when Carter was indicted in 2015.
Fanning is also a producer on the eight-part series, now streaming, which takes a deep dive into the relationship between Carter and Roy (portrayed by Colton Ryan) — the side of the story that didn’t make any headlines. Why did you decide to take this on so soon after “The Great”?I remember watching the case.
I was 19. The media painted this situation in a very one-dimensional way: She was the black widow — a manipulative young woman — and he was the victim, which he very much [was], but we didn’t get to know him.
We didn’t get to know Conrad or his backstory or see the amazing man he was. When they came to me to possibly do this and be a producer, I was hesitant because [most of] these people are alive and this is a story that is very sensitive, and I really had to think hard if it was the right thing to do.
Read more on variety.com