Ozark actress Julia Garner will play infamous con-woman Anna Delvey in a new series titled, Inventing Anna. Garner opens up about the role in an interview with Town & Country magazine.
In preparation for the role, Garner went to visit the real Anna Delvey in prison outside Buffalo, New York.
“She’s actually really sweet,” said Garner, 28. “She was extremely charming. She’s very gentle. But then her voice gets less soft-spoken when she wants something.”
Inventing Anna centers around the true story of Anna Delvey, 30. Delvey is a wannabe socialite who became famous after a New York Magazine article comes out confirming she’s originally from Russia born to a middle-class family. After moving to New York in 2013, Delvey pretended to be a German heiress and owner of a $67 million trust fund. The intelligent con-woman took pride in rubbing elbows with New York’s elite whilst robbing them of $200,000 in order to help fund an extravagant art club she’s supposedly opening. Additionally, the devious Delvey tricked an ex-Vanity Fair photo editor into paying a $62,000 tab for a leisure trip to Morocco.
Julia Garner Gets into Character as Anna Delvey
After chatting with Delvey in person, Julia Garner told Town & Country she’s “actually really sweet.”
Garner wed Foster the People frontman, Mark Foster in 2019. Apparently, the actress has been adding rap music to her playlist in order to properly prepare for the role. So far, her favorite rap tune is Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”.
One challenge on the show was finding a way to master Delvey’s thick Russian-German accent. Garner, said it was “the hardest accent I’ll ever do. My tongue on ‘Ozark’ is completely different from my tongue for Delvey. Anna’s tongue is kind of flat. It almost feels heavy and fat.”
The Inventing Anna trailer features Julia Garner decked out in oversize sunglasses descending through the streets of Manhattan. Megan Thee Stallion’s “Do It on the Tip” plays in the background.
Inventing Anna Details Delvey’s Many Unusual Experiences
In 2019, a Manhattan jury convicts Anna Delvey on four counts of theft, three counts of grand larceny, and one count of attempted grand larceny. She receives a sentence of four to 12 years eventually receiving an early release in February 2021. Unfortunately, Delvey goes back into federal custody due to visa issues. According to reports, Netflix agreed to pay Delvey the sum of $320,000 for the rights to her life story, $200,000 of which went to restitution.
“People don’t necessarily have to agree with what she did,” said Garner. “But I want to help people try to understand why she did it.”
According to Garner, Delvey asked for a quick preview of the accent Garner would use to portray her. “She’s like, ‘Please, let me hear it,'” Garner told Town and Country.
In her discussions with Delvey, Garner asked if she had time to think about the consequences of her actions. Delvey responded saying she was too busy taking tailoring classes in what she referred to as the “stupid culinary arts.”
“I kind of love that about her, in a sick way,” said Garner. “She’s in a full jumpsuit saying, ‘I’m obviously not going to make myself food when I get out of jail.’ I’m curious what Anna’s going to think about me portraying her. They for sure have Netflix in jail.”
