Joey King Reveals How She Prepared for the Role of Gypsy Rose in Hulu’s ‘The Act’ Series

She worked hard to bring her to life. Joey King spoke with In Touch at the premiere of Hulu’s new series The Act and talked about how she prepared to play Gypsy Rose Blanchard. The Act depicts the murder of Dee Dee Blanchard and how it involved Gypsy and is based on a true story. Joey, 19, clearly wanted to do right by the real people who were a part of this bizarre situation.

When it came to preparing to portray Gypsy, Joey said, “There is a lot of preparations, a lot of articles, a lot of reading, a lot of video watching. But ultimately, I’m so happy that I had Patricia to be able to rehearse with as well after all the research I did.” She was referring to Patricia Arquette, who plays Dee Dee on the show. When asked what it was like working with Patricia, 50, Joey said, “She is an angel. I’m so thrilled that I had the experience of working with her and the experience of sharing the screen with her. I love her so much.”

The Act is based on the story of Gypsy and her overprotective mother who made headlines back in June 2015 when Dee Dee was found dead at their Missouri home. For years, Dee Dee treated her daughter like a helpless child and kept Gypsy bound in a wheelchair and fed through a tube. That whole time, Gypsy was led to believe she was terminally ill.

In fact, her mother was faking her daughter’s illnesses, Us Weekly reported. After she found out, Gypsy and her boyfriend, Nick, allegedly planned to kill Dee Dee. In the series, after Dee Dee’s body is found, Gypsy and Nick are located in Wisconsin and they’re both charged for her murder.

In real life, in July 2016, Gypsy made a plea deal with prosecutors and plead guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 10-year sentence. She should be eligible for parole before her 33rd birthday, according to the Springfield News-Leader. In the meantime, Joey will continue to help tell her story on the small screen.