Joey King on her 'nerve-racking' transformation into Gypsy Rose Blanchard in the true crime series The Act

Originally published on April 8, 2019

However you feel about your mother, that relationship is supposed to be a place of trust. A new series from Hulu called The Act depicts what happens when that trust is destroyed.

The Hulu true crime drama retells the tragic and shocking story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who murdered her mother Dee Dee Blanchard with the help of a boyfriend in 2015.

Dee Dee had a psychological disorder called Munchausen syndrome by proxy, in which a caregiver fabricates, exaggerates or otherwise induces illness in a person under their care, typically their child. Dee Dee insisted that her daughter Gypsy had asthma, epilepsy, muscular dystrophy and cancer — none of it was true.

After undergoing numerous unnecessary medical treatments and being forced to use a wheelchair and feeding tube, Gypsy snapped. Police found Dee Dee stabbed to death in her house and less than 48 hours later, Gypsy and her boyfriend were arrested for her mother's murder.

In The Act, Gypsy Rose Blanchard is played by 19-year-old Joey King, who's best known for her roles in rom-coms and teen movies like Ramona and Beezus and The Kissing Booth. It's a dark turn for King, who had to transform herself both mentally and physically to play the character. 

King spoke with q's Tom Power about what drew her to Gypsy's story, how she prepared for the role and why it's a bold new step in her career. The Act is available through Crave in Canada and Hulu in the U.S.

Download our podcast or click the 'Listen' link near the top of this page to hear the full interview. 

— Produced by Cora Nijhawan