Julianne Moore Sympathizes With Sarah Palin After Playing Her

Actress Julianne Moore is set to play Sarah Palin in the upcoming HBO film Game Change. Now it might tickle viewers everywhere to see a respected actress portray a highly controversial (and in many circles, highly despised) political figure, leaving many to wonder how Moore will lampoon the former Alaskan governor.

Here’s the twist.

From a recent interview, it seems like Moore came off the set not emboldened with disdain for Sarah Palin, but rather sympathy and understanding.

“I do think the situation that she was put in was a completely untenable one,” says Moore of Sarah Palin. Palin “was suddenly almost in lockdown, where [she] wasn’t allowed to speak to anybody unless it went through the proper channels. They were telling her what to do and how to dress. And how to behave.”

Moore also defended Palin’s intelligence, which is generally ripe for the picking in satirical circles. “I think she’s very canny,” Moore said. She “would not have reached the place that she reached without ability. You don’t get to be a vice-presidential candidate by accident.”

In order to get into character, and most importantly, to master Palin’s Alaskan lilt, Moore says that she listened to the audiotape of Palin’s book, Going Rogue. “It’s not just her accent. It’s almost her syntax. … There’s a musicality to her speech that’s very idiosyncratic.”

Fun fact for Joss Whedon fans: The film was penned by Whedon alum Danny Strong, known for playing Jonathan Levinson of the odious “Trio” in the cult-hit television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Game Change airs March 10th. Will you be tuning in?

Here’s the trailer to whet your interest:

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