The Hunting Wives and Pitch Perfect actress Brittany Snow says her new true-crime series, Murdaugh: Death in the Family, shows a dark side of humanity most people prefer to think doesn't actually exist.
Snow plays Matney, whose relentless investigation helped put Murdaugh behind bars.
"It really plays into the human psyche of what humans are capable of because, as an audience member, you don't necessarily want to believe that humans are capable of this much corruption and chaos and horrific events to their family and friends and a community," Snow told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
"Why it's so shocking is that, with each twist of the events, you're sort of hoping as a human being, that it can't be real. This can't actually be happening," Snow said.
"So, you want to take a different perspective on it, but it's that much more gruesome when it doesn't [reflect reality]. I think that's why people are so engrossed by the story, because you're really hoping that there's not a real person that could do this."Matney believes people are obsessed with this story because it is an example of truth seeming stranger than fiction.
"That's a cliche, but it's very true and it's a story about standing up to power and about dismantling systems that everybody tells you that you can't, and I think people are really attracted to that," the podcaster explained.
Snow said getting to know the real Matney was integral to her preparation for this role.
"It was just so enjoyable to get to know Mandy as a person and I can call her a friend, but also to create the character, having her as someone I can call up and ask any question," Snow added.
"I texted her all the time, being like, 'What did you feel when you were walking down the street and this happened?' Or, 'When you found out this piece of news, what was your reaction?' And, 'How was your boss REALLY in this moment?'" she said. "That is very rare for an actor to get because it's so crucial for us to create a full-circle, real character. She gave me all the missing pieces that I ever needed."
Matney was also able to give Arquette a sense of who Maggie was, even though Maggie wasn't as prominent a figure as Alex was, meaning there was less archival footage of her for Arquette to study.
"She did an amazing job doing a lot of her own research and studying and I was shocked at some of the things," Matney said.
