Wikipedia
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Holly Gibney is a fictional character created by American author Stephen King. Originally appearing in the Bill Hodges trilogy of novels (Mr. Mercedes, Finders Keepers and End of Watch), she later appears as a major supporting character in The Outsider and as the main character in "If It Bleeds", a novella included in the collection of the same name. She has been portrayed on screen by Justine Lupe in the television adaptation of the Hodges trilogy and by Cynthia Erivo in the miniseries adaptation of The Outsider
Justine Lupe relishes bringing a beloved Stephen King character to life.Quote:
Holly Gibney is a young woman with a number of character traits that would make her both difficult and exhilarating to play. Holly has neuroses on top of neuroses, including being OCD, having agoraphobia, and being on the Autism spectrum, albeit, extremely high-functioning.
Beyond all that baggage, however, Holly, through the three books and now in AT&T AUDIENCE Network's Mr. Mercedes series, now in its third season, finds her way out of a suffocating home life and into her own life, making her own choices and even becoming a partner in a private investigation firm with lead character Bill Hodges, played by Brendan Gleeson, and Jerome Robinson, played by Emmy-winning actor Jharrel Jerome.
Lupe knew that the character was popular among King's readers, and that caused a bit of trepidation. She says, "I was a little bit nervous to fill the shoes that he created. For the audition itself, I luckily had really good writing from David Kelly. He wrote her so specifically."
"After I got the part and I read the book, I realized how he really capture the essence of how she speaks with the punctuation and all the little nuances that he put into the writing really reflects who she is as a person, so that was this amazing gift in terms of the audition itself. I just followed that.
"Once I got to know the character better before I started the series, I looked into ways that people deal with being on the spectrum, coping mechanisms, tics that people might have.
"My mom has worked with people who have autism or are on the spectrum, have some of these sensory disorders, so she gave me some tips, and I read a lot about it.
Lupe sees far more in the character beyond her differences, however. She notes, "I feel like that aspect of her personality is both a small part of who she is, and also incredibly important to who she is, and influences all these other, really special attributes that she has. I really wanted it to be a part of her story.
"It's not completely defined in the books exactly what she is dealing with, so I didn't want it to be hitting you over the head with it. I just felt like there was something going on, so to add in some flickers of that and explore that without letting it rule who she was as a character, and letting it impact. Highlighting the other really special parts of her was the route to take with it. I'm glad that it reads that way."
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Professionally Identified and joined WP August 26, 2013
DSM 5: Autism Spectrum Disorder, DSM IV: Aspergers Moderate Severity
“My autism is not a superpower. It also isn’t some kind of god-forsaken, endless fountain of suffering inflicted on my family. It’s just part of who I am as a person”. - Sara Luterman