Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass on “Good American Family”, Natalia Grace

Although it is one of the most recognizable faces on television, Ellen pompeo I felt like the team behind “Good American Family” took her chance on her.

For almost two decades, Pompeo played in “Gray's Anatomy” as a namesake character of the show Meredith Gray. But in 2022, Pompeo announced that it would be reducing its appearances In the show, working on a new project that would become its first major role outside the long -standing medical drama.

Pompeo said that she felt the pressure to prove that she could walk the character from which she had become synonymous and that, like her, the creations of “good American family” took a risk.

“It took enormous courage and bravery on all their games and take a chance on me. It's a real chance,” she said. “I haven't done anything for 20 years – I could have effective this major.”

This chance came in the form of the limited series of Hulu in the first Wednesday which is based on the real history of the Barnett and Natalia Grace family, a Ukrainian girl with a rare form of nanism. The adoption by the family of Indiana de Natalia, the subsequent abandonment of them and the accusations that followed made the headlines across the country, later becoming the subject of the three -seizure investigation documentaries “The curious case of Natalia Grace” and now “good American family”.

Mark Duplass and Ellen Pompeo in the role of Michael and Kristine Barnett in “Good American Family” by Hulu.

(Be Baffo / Disney)

In the series, Pompeo features Mark DuplassPlaying Kristine and Michael Barnett, the couple who adopted Natalia, played by Imogen Faith Reid. “Good American Family” is said to be different points of view to illustrate the contradictory accounts of what happened between family members.

For Pompeo, entering his first post-“Gray” role was intimidating, especially when he was a character as complicated as this one.

“I didn't know if I could do it,” she said. “I have been doing the same for 20 years. I didn't know if I could do something else. Why would someone think I could? “

But Duplass, who said that she had expressed these concerns to him when they met to discuss the project for a sushi dinner, helped her mind. He recalled that she had asked, “Will I be able to do this?”

“I say to myself: 'of course, you will be able to do that, but I like you to think you could not, because it makes me feel safe,” said Duplass.

A woman with blond hair in a dark outfit seated on a sofa in front of a man.

The assaults on their roles were understandable given the complexity of the history of barnetts and the girl they adopted. Kristine was convinced that Natalia was an adult pretending to be a child, and she alleged that Natalia had tried to kill family members and A called it “sociopath”. The barnetts were legally passed at 22, reflecting their hypothesis that she was an adult, and they let her live alone in an apartment in 2013 before moving to Canada with their three organic children. Natalia denies the allegations of the barnetts and declared in interviews that she was the one who was mistreated. DNA tests Caught by Natalia in 2023, indicate that her birth year being around 2003, which makes it approximately 10 years when she was abandoned.

Parents were negligence In 2019, and the two pleaded not guilty. Michael was charges in 2022, and the The accusations against Kristine were abandoned in 2023. She maintained her innocence, but Michael said in Several interviews for the documentary This Kristine was a “monster”, abusing him and Natalia. (Michael asked for Kristine's divorce in 2014.)

The Katie Robbins and Sarah Sutherland co-showrunners said they had never doubted that Pompeo could offer strong performance while providing significant contributions in its role as executive producer.

“We never had to worry about whether she could do it because she was worried about it,” said Robbins, who created the series. “And that meant that every day she came, after thinking about it, after having done her homework, working very hard to make sure that she could play this role, and she did and was a fantastic creative collaborator.”

Pompeo and Duplass both admitted that they hesitated to assume dramatized roles of Kristine and Michael, two people often vilified by the media. It felt “troubles, troubles, trouble,” said Pompeo. She feared that the spectacle could be operator – a duplass of shared fear. The two actors are also parents: Pompeo has two daughters and a son with her husband, record producer and writer Chris Ivery; And Duplass has two daughters with his wife Katie Aselton, actor and filmmaker.

“I really think, don't put something just because you can tear it from the titles and make money. And I was not saying that I was judging it, but I just wary these things,” said Duplass. “So I was wondering honestly:” Why are we doing the show? What is it? “”

A girl at the top pink seated next to the man in a khaki jacket.

The two actors credited the first conversations with Robbins and Sutherland to help them decide to take the jump, as well as to meet Reid. Her turn as Natalia in the series marks the first role of major actor of the 27 -year -old (she is also a devoted fan of “Gray's Anatomy”, according to Duplass and Pompeo).

Robbins, who created the series, insisted that the show would not only be another reshuffle of history that was told through documentaries, podcasts and other media. With “Good American Family”, Robbins wanted to ask more important questions about prejudices, loyalty and what she calls “the elusive nature of the truth”.

To explore these themes, the eight episodes of the series are divided between the prospects of Kristine, Michael and Natalia. Robbins said that she and her colleagues hoped that this structure “would give the public the opportunity to fight against their own prejudices”.

Duplass said he felt the cast and Pompeo lent himself to this conversation by questioning who we have confidence and who we are not doing, because the two have long played reliable and appreciated characters.

A woman with blond hair holds a hand near her shoulder.

Ellen pompeo to play a new role: “I really needed to see if I could (do) and if I would appreciate it, if I thought it was fun.” (Jennifer McCord / For Times)

A man with a beard hugs his hands under his chin.

Mark Duplass: “There is a trusted reservoir built for Ellen and myself because of the years that we have spent on the screen, unconsciously convincing people when we speak, we are the voice of reason.” (Jennifer McCord / For Times)

“There is a trusted reservoir built for Ellen and myself because of the years we have spent on the screen, unconsciously convincing people when we speak, we are the voice of reason,” he said. “We somehow fall on history that we are the center of morality, then this center begins to collapse.”

For Pompeo, his work on “Gray's” gave him “the gift of knowing how to be present in an instant”, after having put his “10,000 hours, then some,” she said. This gift proved to be very useful when fighting the difficult subject, while managing her anxiety about what she called to “start again” with a new role for the first time in several years.

“I really needed to see if I could (do it) and if I would appreciate it, if I thought it was fun,” she said. “It was a big test for me. It was a great experience, but which was necessary.”

The Co -Stars – Pompeo said they had instant chemistry – once again talked about collaborating in the future.

“We really enjoyed working together and being together, and that's certainly something I would like to do,” said Duplass before Pompeo was joking that she would appear in the next season of “The morning show“With him.

Pompeo said that she did not know what is the next step in her career, but with good humor, she and Duplass have agreed: “Hopefully that is going well.”

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