Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout.Photo: Michael Desmond/Hulu
Amanda Seyfrieddid more than just master the voice ofElizabeth Holmesin Hulu’sThe Dropout— she also nailed her cringe-worthy dance moves.
In a recent interview withEntertainment Tonight, Seyfried andThe Dropout’s showrunner Elizabeth Meriwether opened up about filming Elizabeth’s awkward dance scenes on the limited series.
As viewers know, Elizabeth has been featured dancing several times. Some of the scenes show her dancing solo, such as when she’sin her bedroomgrooving to Alabama’s “I’m in a Hurry (And Don’t Know Why)” andin her officeto Missy Elliott’s “We Run This.” Elizabeth also dances with Sunny Balwani (Naveen Andrews) toLil' Wayne’s “How to Love”, andNick Jonas' hit “Jealous.”
While the disgraced Theranos founder does break out in dance often, Seyfried said her character’s moves were actually “spontaneous” and completely unplanned.
“It wasn’t choreographed, that’s for sure,” she toldETof a majority of the dance scenes, aside from her longer office routine to Missy Elliott’s popular song.
The actress added that the dances were more about “finding the wrong move or finding that weird, awkward rhythm that you want to hide.”
“Like, really getting in touch with that,” she shared. “That awkwardness is kind of what brings us all together as audience members. We all have awkward tendencies and moments. And I’m just like, ‘Bring it out. I want to see more of that.’ "
Amanda Seyfried dancing as Elizabeth Holmes.HULU
Meriwether told the outlet that she knew she had to incorporate the dance scenes after learning onRebecca Jarvis' ABC News podcast(which the showwas adapted from) that Holmes would often dance in her car alone.
“The music ended up becoming such a big part of the show and it started with the anecdote in the podcast about Elizabeth Holmes dancing in her car alone,” she explained. “That really stuck out to me because I was just really trying to imagine what Elizabeth Holmes is like when nobody’s watching her.”
“It became, for me, a way to show the character grappling with emotions… because I think she, the character in the show, is not great at getting her emotions out,” Meriwether continued. “And so dancing just made sense in that way. And I sort of took that and I just ran with it.”
Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes.Beth Dubber/Hulu
Meriwether and Seyfried’s interview comes after the most recent episode ofThe Dropoutaired on Hulu, showing Elizabeth and Sunny dancing in her apartment to “Jealous” while wearing masks of her face that had been made for her 30th birthday celebration.
The scene had social media users talking, with many noting that the awkward dance moves, coupled with the strange mask, made it “deeply, deeply uncomfortable” to watch.
“How in the world did Amanda Seyfreid [sic] and Naveen Andrews keep straight faces in the scenes where Elizabeth and Sunny are doing their bizarre mating dances #TheDropout,” tweeted another user.
“I know that Amanda Seyfried has to be able to really dance reasonably well because she is so good at making me uncomfortable with her horrible dancing on The Dropout,” added a separate user.
“This is not just about showing all the points where this woman made bad choices,” SeyfriedtoldThe Hollywood Reporterin February. “We’re investigating why we love a fall from grace, why we want to watch train wrecks.”
The limited seriesalso starsStephen Fry,William H. Macy,Laurie Metcalf,Sam Waterston, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Kate Burton, Michel Gill, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Elizabeth Marvel, Dylan Minnette, Alan Ruck and Michaela Watkins.
In January, a federal jury in California foundHolmesguilty of fraud and conspiracy. Holmes had been charged with 11 counts of fraud for claims made to investors and patients of her Silicon Valley blood-testing company, Theranos.
Holmes was found guilty of four of the 11 charges – three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was found not guilty of an additional four.
Holmes faces a federal prison sentence of up to 20 years. Her sentencing will come at a later date.
The Dropoutis now streaming on Hulu.
source: people.com
