The Real Reason Amanda Seyfried Was Over Playing Elizabeth Holmes When The Dropout Wrapped Filming
The ever-talented and transforming Amanda Seyfried stunned audiences earlier this year when she appeared in Hulu's limited series "The Dropout," an exposé on Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, a Silicon Valley-based health-tech startup that claimed to have created a blood test that delivered accurate results in real time. Holmes was 19 when she founded the company and helped Theranos raise over $400 million, per The New Yorker, propelling her net worth to $4.5 billion during the company's peak valuation (via Forbes). Holmes' tests later proved to be less than accurate. In 2022, Holmes was found guilty on four counts of fraud following charges made by the SEC (Security Exchange Commission) in 2018 (via The New York Times).
Holmes' story of success and lies continues to fascinate, which is why it's no surprise that "The Dropout" was created to capitalize on Theranos' failures. Outlets such as Harper's Bazaar have praised the series for its accuracy and attention to detail, right down to recreating the "bad makeup" Holmes was known to wear. Seyfried has been praised endlessly for her performance for tapping into Holmes' various quirks. While speaking with The Los Angeles Times, Seyfried opened up about how she managed to recreate the founder's non-blinking trait and how she dropped her voice to match the character, worrying that she would damage her vocal cords.
From the accolades, it's clearer than ever that Seyfried fully immersed herself as Holmes for this limited series. Now that "The Dropout" has ended, the actress has opened up about how she distanced herself from Holmes.
Amanda Seyfried let go of Elizabeth Holmes during her trial
After winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series for "The Dropout, Amanda Seyfried was asked by a Today Show reporter (via Variety) how long it took for her to shake off Holmes' persona, hinting at the star's diligence and commitment to perfectly mimicking the character. "Actually not as long as I thought because I was so over her by the end of the show," Seyfried revealed, while holding her first Emmy.
Previously, speaking with Time, Seyfried opened about how she has difficulty fully immersing herself into a role, saying that "Anyone who knows me is going to catch a glimpse of me onscreen in 'The Dropout.'"
To fully become Holmes, Seyfried opened about how she had to convince herself. "You have to delude yourself, to a point, as an actor. This, I had to delude myself more than normal [...] I think I had just been done. I'd never played somebody that long, for the four and a half months of my life, every single day, I gave it all to this job."
Once Holmes' trial began on August 31, 2021 (via United States Department of Justice), Seyfried said she moved on. As she points out, "The Dropout" ended production as Holmes' trial ramped up. According to Seyfried, "I was just like 'I gotta throw her away.' [...] So I didn't do the voice for like two months until my doorman was like 'can you do the voice?' I was like 'Sure, Dave, I'll do the voice. Only for you!'"