Julianne Moore has explained why she chose for her character to speak with a lisp in May December.
Directed by Todd Haynes and starring Natalie Portman and Charles Melton alongside Moore, the film follows "married couple Gracie and Joe Atherton-Yoo (Moore and Melton) whose 23-year age gap sparked a notorious tabloid romance that gripped the nation two decades ago". Portman plays actress Elizabeth Berry who is set to play Gracie in a movie about their life and visits them to get immersed in their world.
Speaking to W Magazine about playing Gracie, Moore opened up about why she chose to speak with a lisp for the role.
Related: May December's Julianne Moore reveals her first thoughts reading the script
According to Moore, the striking vocal choice was not actually in the script, but was a decision she made based on Portman's ability to mimic her character as well as her character's childlike personality.
"That vocal choice was not in the script," said Moore. "I made the decision based on two things: I wanted to give Natalie’s character some things she could copy. I hit upon this idea of Gracie's lisp, which is something we attribute to children. That's the second reason: Gracie is childlike."
That wasn't the only skill that had to be developed for the movie, as she was playing an expert cake maker, meaning Moore had to study the art before filming and then teach the same skill to Portman.
Related: Charles Melton explains how Riverdale prepared him for May December role
"I studied with a home baker so Natalie could come and watch and learn how to be a home baker like Gracie. It was kind of a meta experience," she said.
When asked if baking is her secret skill, Moore said: "Actually, my secret skill — my superpower — is cleaning. I will occasionally go into a bathroom in a restaurant and pick things up. I'm always like: 'Who are these pigs who were in here?'"
May December is available on Sky Cinema in the UK, and on Netflix in the US.
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Harriet is a freelance news writer specialising in TV and movies at Digital Spy.
A horror enthusiast, she joined Digital Spy after working on her own horror website, reviewing films and focusing largely on feminism in the genre.
In her spare time, Harriet paints and produces mixed-media art. She graduated from the University of Kingston with a BA in fine art, where she specialised in painting. She also has an MA in journalism from Birkbeck University.
