Amanda Seyfried's New Movie Role Is Turning Heads
When Amanda Seyfried is slated to star in a new role, we know it's going to be a hit and her next project is no different. The Oscar-nominated actor is set to hit the small screen in Hulu's The Dropout, per Deadline, based on the ABC News podcast of the same name which tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes — or as the pod puts it, an "unbelievable tale of ambition and fame gone terribly wrong."
Once dubbed "the next Steve Jobs" with her innovative medical testing start-up, Theranos, which was valued at $9 billion at its height, however, "it was revealed that none of the tech actually worked, putting thousands of people's health in grave danger," according to Variety. Although she was famed for dropping out of Stanford University at age 19 as a chemical engineering prodigy who promised to revolutionize blood testing, the rhetoric quickly changed once she was exposed (via Deadline).
It's no surprise Seyfried will be playing the role of the disgraced businesswoman, but she wasn't the studio's first choice. Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon was supposed to play the part and became involved in the project starting in 2019, according to the outlet, but sadly she had to step away due to scheduling conflicts (via Vogue). She was an executive producer on the mini-series, and now Seyfried is set to have a producer credit as well. Keep scrolling for more details about Seyfried's next polarizing character.
Elizabeth Holmes may be Seyfried's toughest role yet
While Amanda Seyfried may not have to prove her acting chops at this point in the game with her memorable performances in Mama Mia, Le Miserables, Mean Girls, and so many more beloved movies, playing the part of the infamous Elizabeth Holmes is unlike any role she's played yet.
At the peak of Holmes' Theranos scam, she was considered one of the richest women in the world, but following a 2018 Wall Street Journal investigation, it was exposed that her innovative technology had yet to be proven legitimate (via CNBC). She was indicted on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud by a federal jury in 2018, according to Variety. However, Holmes' trial was delayed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, plus she is now pregnant with her first child after marrying husband William Evans in 2019 (via Vogue). As a result, a judge postponed her trial to Aug. 31, 2021, six weeks after her due date, according to CNBC.
Although prosecutors say, "it's frustrating and disappointing to learn about [the pregnancy and subsequent delay] now," according to the outlet, her defense attorney, Kevin Downey, said the Holmes is "eager to contest the charges. Based on the medical advice that we've gotten setting this schedule at a pace that would be faster than six weeks post-birth would be aggressive and not recommended." It sounds like Seyfried has a lot of work to do.