Well, Calum Worthy, who plays Nick in the true crime miniseries says his role screwed him up a bit. Calum told The Hollywood Reporter in a new interview that he went through an "intense research process" to get into Nicks mind before shooting began.
"I knew he had a lot of very dark thoughts throughout his life, so I played disturbing videos at night before I went to set, and I'd wake up and they'd still be playing so Id kind of be haunted by those images," he said.
Nick is currently serving a lifetime sentence in prison after he was found guilty of murdering Dee Dee Blanchard, who had Munchausen syndrome by proxy. The condition manifested in Dee Dee convincing her daughter Gypsy she was terminally ill, bound to a wheelchair, and mentally disabled even though she was perfectly healthy.
"Then after we filmed the murder scene, because we filmed it in chronological order, I would have the picture of Dee Dee Blanchards crime photos on my phone, and so it'd be the last thing I'd see before I go to bed at night and the first thing I'd see when I woke up, and I'd constantly be haunted by those images, Calum said.
Calum said the process was tough mentally (um, yeah), and it even impacted his personal life. "I felt like I was pulling away from a lot of family and friends, he said. I didn't reach out as much. I was off social media for about five months while we filmed it because it didn't feel right to be on social media playing such an intense character."
Apparently it was all worth it: The Act has gotten a ton of critical acclaim and even has some Emmy buzz.
