Why Karen Kintner From Dirty John Looks So Familiar
Following a model that could very well become more prevalent in the future of TV and film, true crime anthology TV series "Dirty John" initially drew from a podcast of the same name as its source material. Both the podcast and its TV series adaptation are titled after a real-life con man named John Meehan, nicknamed "Dirty John." However, whereas the podcast (itself limited to six episodes) focused entirely on Meehan, the TV series returned for a second season chronicling an entirely different real-life crime after the story of Meehan was wrapped up in its first season.
"Dirty John" Season 2 uses as its source material the story of Betty Broderick, known for murdering her ex-husband and his second wife. In the "Dirty John" version of the Betty Broderick story, the prolific Amanda Peet portrays Betty, and '90s star Christian Slater is her ex-husband Dan. A character named Karen Kintner appears throughout "Dirty John" Season 2 as a friend and confidant to Betty, though she is not based on a real person but was fabricated entirely for the TV series (via Elle).
Karen Kintner is portrayed by actor Missi Pyle. Her filmography dates back to the '90s, so prior works from which she might appear familiar to viewers of "Dirty John" Season 2 ultimately span three decades.
Missi Pyle was Laliari in Galaxy Quest
"Galaxy Quest," released in 1999, mines comedy from both the space adventures featured on "Star Trek" and the fan communities formed in appreciation of it and similar shows. The protagonists of "Galaxy Quest" are all actors on a science fiction adventure TV show (itself called "Galaxy Quest") who are drawn into a real-life intergalactic conflict when a species of aliens, called Thermians, mistake episodes of the TV series for reality. The Thermians thus think that the cast members of "Galaxy Quest" are real-life space adventurers.
Missi Pyle appears in "Galaxy Quest" as a Thermian named Laliari. She functions primarily as the romantic interest of Fred (Tony Shalhoub), whose character on the fictional "Galaxy Quest" series is something of an analogue to Scotty in "Star Trek," the engineer responsible for the Enterprise's transporters, evoked in the famed line "Beam me up, Scotty." At the film's conclusion, Laliari leaves her fellow Thermians behind and joins the cast of a new "Galaxy Quest" TV show, living among humans on Earth from then on.
Pyle was a Globo Gym Purple Cobra in Dodgeball
"Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story," is a comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller, released in the wake of films like the Ben Stiller-starring "Zoolander" and amid Vince Vaughn's burgeoning comedy career, including prior appearances in films like "Old School." "Dodgeball" fell firmly in the midst of what might be considered both actors' comedic high points.
Its two leads portray owners of rival gyms, both of whom assemble teams of players for a dodgeball competition with the fate of the gym owned by protagonist Pete LaFleur (Vaughn) on the line. Whereas Pete's team is quirky and lovable, members of the team headed by the villainous White Goodman (Stiller) are big and imposing. White's team includes the European-in-some-unspecified-capacity Fran Stalinovskovichdavidovitchsky, portrayed by Missi Pyle.
Whereas Pyle's role in "Galaxy Quest" itself is comedic, the absurdity of her performance as Fran is heightened even further from her turn as a romantically smitten space alien. Fran is practically a cartoon character, though in something of a subversion of her outlandish appearance, she ends the film as the significant other of Pete's teammate Owen (Joel David Moore).
Missi Pyle was Mrs. Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The story of the 2005 film "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" is famously based on the 1964 novel by children's author Roald Dahl and is the second film adaptation of Dahl's novel. Though its story resembles that of both the original film and its novel source material in many regards, the 2005 film alters the original story in a few key ways.
One such alteration is the introduction of Mrs. Beauregarde as the guardian of Violet Beauregarde (AnnaSophia Robb). In both the novel and the 1971 film, Violet is accompanied to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory by her father. In the 2005 film, Violet's primary guardian is her mother, portrayed by Missi Pyle. Mrs. Beauregarde is something of a stage mom, seemingly encouraging Violet to "win" the tour of Willy Wonka's factory by any means possible. When Violet chews a forbidden piece of gum and becomes large, round, and blue, Mrs. Beauregarde's first reaction is to consider entering Violet into a county fair, revealing her desire to push Violet to win in whatever capacity and at any cost.
Pyle appeared as TV host Ellen Abbott in Gone Girl
Whereas many of Missi Pyle's notable roles are outwardly comedic, her appearance in "Gone Girl" is more in line with the film's grounded satire, rather than heightened and absurd. "Gone Girl" is a murder mystery that places at its forefront not necessarily the "who," "what," or "why" of its central crime, but rather the public frenzy surrounding the media's coverage of it.
Missi Pyle portrays a fictional TV host named Ellen Abbott in "Gone Girl." That said, Ellen Abbott is modeled closely after real-life TV host Nancy Grace. Pyle and Grace discussed the role with one another in a piece published by The Hollywood Reporter, each expressing admiration for the other. Since the representation of the media in "Gone Girl" is intended to satirize the sort of real-life media frenzy that often surrounds a high-profile crime, the inclusion of a character acting as essentially a one-to-one facsimile of a real-world TV personality lends some authenticity to the film's dark comedy.