Octavia Spencer would have pursued a career in law enforcement – but she’s too “squeamish”.
Octavia Spencer
The 51-year-old actress is fascinated by true crime stories and admitted she was attracted to the role of investigative reporter Poppy Parnell in her TV series ‘Truth Be Told’ because it gives her the chance to live out some of the dreams she had for her future when she was younger.
She said: “In real life I am a big mystery buff. I am a big true crime buff, just like Poppy Parnell.
“Lord knows, there is a heap of crime out there in the world.
“There’s so much of it that we knew we could explore a different mystery each season with this show.
“I really enjoy listening to a podcast, and in the show Poppy makes a podcast…
“I don’t like to say I love true crime because that makes it so morbid – but here’s why I got into the genre.
“I am dyslexic and the things that kept me reading as a child were mysteries.
“I’m a big fan of John Douglas, who started the FBI Behavioral Science Unit.
“If I wasn’t so squeamish, I probably would have gone into law enforcement, if not law school.
“But then I realised I could play both of those things as an actor.”
And Octavia’s interest isn’t limited to her own TV show.
She added to Britain’s OK! magazine: “Every night I watch something forensic to solve a puzzle.”
The Oscar-winning actress thinks ‘Truth Be Told’ is unique in the crime genre.
She said: “I’m very grateful to Apple TV+ for giving us the leeway to explore this as a genre because it’s not been done before.
“I mean, we’ve seen a million hospital shows, cop shows, and lawyer shows, but you’ve not seen one about a journalist and a podcast.
“Hello, this is my genre now! I’m taking it over.”
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