Though she’s one of the vital recognizable faces on tv, Ellen Pompeo felt as if the workforce behind “Good American Family” took an opportunity on her.
For almost twenty years, Pompeo starred in “Grey’s Anatomy” because the present’s namesake character Meredith Gray. However in 2022, Pompeo introduced that she can be scaling again her appearances on the present to work on a brand new undertaking that might grow to be her first main function exterior of the long-running medical drama.
Pompeo mentioned she felt strain to show she might department out from the character she had grow to be synonymous with and that, like her, the creatives of “Good American Family” took a danger.
“It took enormous courage and bravery on all their parts and taking a chance on me. It’s a real chance,” she mentioned. “I haven’t done anything in 20 years — I could have effed this up majorly.”
That likelihood has come within the type of Hulu’s restricted sequence premiering Wednesday that’s primarily based on the real-life story of the Barnett household and Natalia Grace, a Ukrainian lady with a uncommon type of dwarfism. The Indiana household’s adoption of Natalia, subsequent abandonment of her and the costs that adopted made headlines throughout the throughout nation, later changing into the topic of the three-season Investigation Discovery docuseries “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace” and now “Good American Family.”
Mark Duplass and Ellen Pompeo as Michael and Kristine Barnett in Hulu’s “Good American Family.”
(Ser Baffo / Disney)
Within the sequence, Pompeo stars alongside Mark Duplass, taking part in Kristine and Michael Barnett, the couple who adopted Natalia, performed by Imogen Religion Reid. “Good American Family” is informed from completely different factors of view as an example the conflicting accounts of what occurred between family members.
For Pompeo, getting into her first post-”Gray’s” function was daunting, particularly when it was a personality as sophisticated as this one.
“I didn’t know if I could do it,” she mentioned. “I’ve done the same thing for 20 years. I didn’t know if I could do anything else. Why would anybody believe that I could?”
However Duplass, who mentioned she expressed these worries to him after they first met as much as talk about the undertaking over a sushi dinner, helped put her thoughts relaxed. He recalled her asking, “Am I going to be able to do this?”
“I’m like, ‘Of course you’re gonna be able to f— do this, but I love that you think you might not, because that makes me feel safe,” Duplass mentioned.
Mark Duplass mentioned Ellen Pompeo shared her doubts about taking up a brand new function: “I’m like, ‘Of course you’re gonna be able to f— do this, but I love that you think you might not, because that makes me feel safe.”
(Jennifer McCord / For The Occasions)
The jitters over their roles had been comprehensible contemplating the complexity of the story of the Barnetts and the daughter they adopted. Kristine was satisfied that Natalia was an grownup posing as a baby, and he or she alleged that Natalia tried to kill family members and has referred to as her a “sociopath.” The Barnetts had her age legally modified to 22, reflecting their assumption that she was an grownup, and so they left her to stay alone in an condo in 2013 earlier than transferring to Canada with their three organic kids. Natalia denies the Barnetts’ allegations and has mentioned in interviews that she was the one being abused. DNA checks taken by Natalia in 2023 level to her start yr being round 2003, making her about 10 years previous when she was deserted.
The mother and father had been charged with neglect of a dependent in 2019, and each pleaded not responsible. Michael was acquitted of the costs in 2022, and the costs towards Kristine had been dropped in 2023. She maintains her innocence, however Michael has mentioned in a number of interviews for the documentary that Kristine was a “monster,” abusing each him and Natalia. (Michael filed for divorce from Kristine in 2014.)
Co-showrunners Katie Robbins and Sarah Sutherland mentioned they by no means doubted Pompeo might ship a powerful efficiency whereas additionally offering significant contributions in her function as an government producer.
“We never had to worry about whether or not she could do it because she was worried about it,” mentioned Robbins, who created the sequence. “And that meant that every day she came, having thought about it, having done her homework, working really hard to make sure that she could play this part, and she did and was such a fantastic creative collaborator.”
Pompeo and Duplass each admitted they had been hesitant to tackle dramatized roles of Kristine and Michael, two individuals typically vilified by the media. It smelled like “trouble, trouble, trouble,” Pompeo mentioned. She anxious the present might be exploitative — a worry Duplass shared. Each actors are mother and father too: Pompeo has two daughters and a son together with her husband, document producer and author Chris Ivery; and Duplass has two daughters with spouse Katie Aselton, an actor and filmmaker.
“I really strongly believe, don’t put something out just because you can rip it from the headlines and make a buck. And I wasn’t saying I was judging it, but I’m just wary of those things,” Duplass mentioned. “So I was just honestly asking myself, ‘Why are we making the show? What’s this about?’”
Natalia Grace is performed by Imogen Religion Reid, left, a 27-year-old actor.
(Ser Baffo / Disney)
Each actors credited early conversations with Robbins and Sutherland in serving to them determine to make the leap, in addition to assembly Reid. Her flip as Natalia within the sequence marks the 27-year-old’s first main performing function (she’s additionally a loyal fan of “Grey’s Anatomy,” based on Duplass and Pompeo).
Robbins, who created the sequence, was insistent that the present wouldn’t be simply one other rehashing of the story that’s been informed by means of documentaries, podcasts and different media. With “Good American Family,” Robbins wished to pose bigger questions on bias, loyalty and what she calls “the elusive nature of truth.”
To discover these themes, the eight episodes of the sequence are break up between Kristine, Michael and Natalia’s views. Robbins mentioned she and her colleagues hoped this construction would “give audiences an opportunity to grapple with their own biases.”
Duplass mentioned he felt casting him and Pompeo lent itself to that dialog round questioning who we belief and who we don’t, because the two of them have lengthy performed reliable, well-liked characters.
Ellen Pompeo on taking up a brand new function: “I really needed to see if I could [do it] and if I would enjoy it, if I thought it was fun.” (Jennifer McCord/For The Occasions)
Mark Duplass: “There’s a reservoir of trust built up for Ellen and myself because of the years we’ve spent on screen, subconsciously convincing people that when we speak, we’re the voice of reason.” (Jennifer McCord/For The Occasions)
“There’s a reservoir of trust built up for Ellen and myself because of the years we’ve spent onscreen, subconsciously convincing people that when we speak, we’re the voice of reason,” he mentioned. “We’re sort of banking on the history of us being the center of morality, and then that center starts to crumble.”
For Pompeo, her work on “Grey’s” gave her “the gift of knowing how to be present in an instant,” after having put in her “10,000 hours and then some,” she mentioned. That present proved fairly helpful when tackling the robust material, all whereas managing her nervousness about what she referred to as having to “start from scratch” with a brand new function for the primary time in a number of years.
“I really needed to see if I could [do it] and if I would enjoy it, if I thought it was fun,” she mentioned. “It was a big test for me. It was a big experiment, but one that was necessary.”
The co-stars — Pompeo mentioned that they had immediate chemistry — have talked about collaborating once more sooner or later.
“We really enjoyed working together and being together, and it’s definitely something that I would like to do,” mentioned Duplass earlier than Pompeo joked that she’d be showing within the upcoming season of “The Morning Show” with him.
Pompeo mentioned she doesn’t know what’s subsequent on this stage of her profession, however with good humor, she and Duplass agreed: “Let’s hope this goes well.”
