The Dropout: Original Elizabeth Holmes Actress Was Wildly Different

Though Hulu’s upcoming miniseries, The Dropout, stars Amanda Seyfried as Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, the original actress cast in the role was completely different. As is often the case in Hollywood, original plans can change and alternate castings have to occur. Still, it’s normal and sometimes even fun to speculate how things might have unfolded had a project stuck with its original casting, as is the case with The Dropout.

The Dropout is based on the podcast of the same name by journalist Rebecca Jarvis. Jarvis and her podcast co-producers, Taylor Dunn and Victoria Thompson, are executive producers of the miniseries along with Liz Meriwether, the creator of New Girl, who is also the showrunner of The Dropout. Both the podcast and miniseries focus on the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes after she dropped out of Stanford University to create the health technology corporation Theranos and became the youngest-ever self-made billionaire woman. Theranos claimed they could complete a full range of blood tests with one drop of blood. But these claims were brought under suspicion when it was discovered that no peer-reviewed research backed them up, and ultimately, Theranos was exposed as fraudulent.

However, the adaptation of the podcast almost looked far different, as did the portrayal of Holmes. When news first broke that Hulu had ordered a limited series of The Dropout, Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon was set to play the starring role of Elizabeth Holmes and had also signed on as an executive producer. However, in February 2021, it was announced that McKinnon was exiting the project, with no reason given for her departure. Production resumed without McKinnon, and on March 29, Amanda Seyfried was announced as the new Elizabeth Holmes in her first television role since playing Becky on Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017.

It’s possible that Kate McKinnon dropped out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. After she departed The Dropout, she signed on to play Carole Baskin in an upcoming Peacock miniseries, Joe vs. Carole. Carole Baskin is a good fit for her; McKinnon is great at impressions and the miniseries looks to be a mix of drama and comedy, so she can still bring her comedic chops to the table as Carole. There are comedians who have successfully crossed over into drama, but, at least on the surface, Joe vs. Carole appear to be a better fit for the comedienne than The Dropout.

Based on The Dropout‘s trailer, Amanda Seyfried’s portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes looks promising. She has been receiving praise online for nailing how Holmes deepened her voice, allegedly to impress her male colleagues. Seyfried has shown she can play real-life figures; her performance as Marion Davies in 2020’s Mank was widely acclaimed. She may not resemble an exact lookalike of Elizabeth Holmes, but Seyfried can definitely make up for that with her acting ability. However, Amanda Seyfried almost didn’t take the starring role in The Dropout. She revealed in a recent interview (via The Hollywood Reporter) that she turned down the role when she first received the offer. “I had COVID. I was isolating in the basement of a gross townhouse in Savannah, Georgia, because my husband was working on a movie there. And now an L.A. shoot? Pass!” Seyfried explained in the interview. However, she changed her tune the next morning and called her agents to accept the role, feeling excited about the challenge of playing the scandal-riddled Holmes.

Kate McKinnon was a wildly unexpected and intriguing initial casting choice for Elizabeth Holmes. However, McKinnon leaving The Dropout turned out to be a good thing in the long run. Kate McKinnon gets to have fun playing Carole Baskin, and Amanda Seyfried, who is a talented actress in her own right, gets to flex her abilities by playing Holmes. After getting a teaser of Seyfried’s portrayal of the controversial biotechnology entrepreneur, it will be exciting to see what the full limited series will have in store.

The Dropout premieres March 3 on Hulu.