2 years ago
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Jake Lacy Gets Real About Playing a Pedophile successful New Series
Content warning: This communicative discusses child intersexual maltreatment and rape.
Jake Lacy is taking connected his darkest relation yet successful Peacock's A Friend of the Family.
Per the streamer, the '70s-based bid is based connected "the harrowing existent communicative of the Broberg family, whose girl Jan was kidnapped aggregate times implicit a play of a fewer years by a charismatic, obsessed household 'friend.'"
Lacy plays the accused abductor, Robert "B" Berchtold, who the real-life Jan—a shaper connected the show—says molested, raped and brainwashed her erstwhile she was conscionable 12 years old. Like many who are present acquainted with the Broberg's story, Lacy told E! News helium archetypal learned of it by watching Netflix's 2017 documentary Abducted successful Plain Sight, which chronicled some Jan's years-long maltreatment and how, according to her parents Mary Ann and Bob, Berchtold was capable to manipulate them, too.
"But erstwhile this task initially came into my view," Lacy said, "I didn't enactment 2 and 2 together. It wasn't until I was speaking with [showrunner] Nick [Antosca] that I benignant of went, 'Ohhh, this is the aforesaid story.'"
And portion Lacy was admittedly thrilled about the thought of working with Antosca, he wasn't afloat connected committee until helium learned of Jan and Mary Ann's engagement arsenic producers. "It felt similar they had the instauration for thing that could beryllium truly special," helium shared. "And arsenic overmuch arsenic we successful the arts get a small expansive about the stories we archer making a difference, it felt similar for erstwhile I really would get to beryllium a portion of a happening that perchance could beryllium of usage oregon meaning to idiosyncratic and not conscionable self-inflated blistery air, you know?"
So, The White Lotus histrion got to work. Describing his mentation process arsenic "twofold," Lacy explained that helium did extensive research on not lone Berchtold's life, but besides grooming, manipulation and pedophilia. "And past much intangible probe similar speechmaking Lolita," Lacy added, "and benignant of looking astatine those themes and taxable substance done media and communicative things successful the past. In a way, I conscionable wanted to person this arsenal of information."
Peacock
Research aside, determination was "nothing that prepared" Lacy similar meeting Hendrix Yancey, who plays young Jan (Mckenna Grace portrays the older Jan). As helium enactment it, "Seeing the airy successful her and the joyousness and enthusiasm and recognizing immediately that that's what Jan has and inactive has erstwhile you conscionable her—she inactive has this effervescence to her—that is what Robert Berchtold, successful a batch of ways, preyed on."
Naturally, Lacy wasn't funny successful getting mislaid successful Berchtold's mind. "As I, Jake, deliberation astir it, my encephalon shuts down and I consciousness sick and I don't privation to spell there," helium said. "And truthful if that's past what I'm bringing to my consciousness of this character, past I'm missing the communicative due to the fact that that quality had nary of those feelings. This quality treats it similar the 1 happening helium wants successful the world. So, astatine times, there's replacing that emotionally oregon mentally.
And different times, "it's conscionable knowing however a camera works," Lacy added. "Like, if you extremity your caput down and look for excessively long, that's a creepy happening to do—and the camera reads it arsenic such."
Other aspects of A Friend of the Family aren't as cut-and-dry, though. Some viewers whitethorn beryllium speedy to blasted Jan's parents—played by Colin Hanks and Anna Paquin—for the information that she was kidnapped twice or for different missteps, similar waiting 5 days to interaction the authorities the archetypal time. But Jan, Lacy and the amusement itself aren't present to shame them (or anyone but Berchtold, for that matter).
"It's casual from the extracurricular with constricted clip and constricted facts to accidental 'I would never! I would person known what was happening and I would ne'er fto that happen,'" Lacy said, but arsenic helium pointed out, the Brobergs were all being "groomed by a maestro manipulator."
And portion the setting—1970s small-town Indiana—certainly plays a role, that's not to accidental "this benignant of maltreatment and grooming and manipulation" isn't inactive happening today, Lacy said. "It's not similar we got to 1990 and it went away," helium continued. "This inactive happens in a myriad of ways...This is real, beryllium vigilant. Understand that the bulk of radical that this happens to, it's happening from idiosyncratic that you cognize and emotion and trust. It's not similar the boogeyman in an alley."
Peacock
That's 1 of the reasons Lacy is "perfect" for the relation of Berchtold, arsenic Antosca enactment it.
"Jan had told maine however genuinely charismatic this antheral was," Antosca told E! News, "and however helium wasn't sinister. He was truly, genuinely magnetic. And we needed idiosyncratic who could authentically bash that and who could marque the assemblage recognize however this household fell successful emotion with him, however helium seems harmless and trustworthy and charismatic. And Jake is evidently truthful likable, truthful helium conscionable has that quality. He's besides an unthinkable actor."
The first four episodes of A Friend of the Family are present streaming connected Peacock. New episodes volition beryllium released play connected Thursdays.
(E! and Peacock are some portion of the NBCUniversal family.)
For free, confidential help, telephone the National Sexual Assault Hotline astatine 1-800-656-4673 oregon sojourn rainn.org.
