The actress plays a younger version of Annie on Hulu's anthology series inspired by Stephen King's literary universe.
Right now is a good time to be Lizzy Caplan. The former Mean Girls star is now headlining season two of the Hulu original series Castle Rock and is playing dual roles on the upcoming Apple TV+ thriller Truth Be Told.
On the former, an anthology series bringing together characters from Stephen King’s literary universe, Caplan plays Annie Wilkes, a role first originated onscreen by Kathy Bates in the 1990 film Misery. The iconic portrayal of a former nurse who rescues her favorite author before eventually torturing him earned Bates an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
The TV version of Annie is a young nurse dealing with mental issues who gets stuck in the town of Castle Rock. “I think we’ve made our Annie different,” Caplan told ET in October about her portrayal, adding that she hopes her version “will enhance” fans’ ongoing experience with the character. “My goal was always that my Annie could hopefully, feasibly become that Annie in the future.”
Since the show premiered last month, Caplan has earned rave reviews for her performance with TV Guide saying she is “killer” in the role.
When asked if she had reached out to Bates about playing Annie, the actress said she has “had no contact with her. But I hope to one day.” A month later, ET has learned that Caplan has since been in touch with the Oscar winner.
At the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, for the premiere for Truth Be Told, Caplan reveals that while she was “too intimidated to reach out,” she does “have a present for her that is coming to my house.” However, before the actress could get her predecessor the gift, she says that Bates “beat me to the punch.”
“She sent me flowers, which was, like, a moment. It was so classy and amazing. And she's amazing,” Caplan says, noting that the acknowledgment from Bates will not go unreturned. As soon as the gift comes in the mail, she plans on sending it straight to Bates. “It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow,” she says, adding: “I mean, she hasn’t said she wants to hang out yet.”
In the meantime, fans will also enjoy Caplan’s performance as identical twin sisters, Josie and Lanie Buhrman, opposite Octavia Spencer, Aaron Paul and Elizabeth Perkins on the Apple TV+ thriller about a true-crime podcast host who decides to revisit the case of a convicted killer years later.
When it came to playing the two parts, Caplan says she preferred Lanie over Josie. “They're sort of, like, both my little children,” she explains. “But I feel like I got to know Lanie first if that makes sense. You know, Josie was a slower burn.”
Truth Be Told debuts Friday, Dec. 6 only on Apple TV+.
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