‘Inventing Anna’: Anna Chlumsky Is Most Proud of the ‘Emotional’ Labor Scene After Watching It With Her Real-Life Husband
Who can forget the sweet 9-year-old girl who played Vada Sultenfuss alongside Dan Aykroyd, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Macaulay Culkin in the tearjerker 1991 film, My Girl? Now, Anna Chlumsky is all grown up and starring in the hit Netflix series that has everyone talking. Inventing Anna is based on the real-life story of Anna Sorokin, portrayed by Ozark‘s Julia Garner.
Now the mom of two young kids, Chlumsky related most to the emotional childbirth scene in the drama series. She recalls feeling proud watching the labor scene with her real-life husband of 22 years, Shaun So.
Anna Chlumsky’s role in ‘Inventing Anna’
In the nine-episode Netflix limited series Inventing Anna, Chlumsky plays the role of a struggling Manhattan magazine reporter, Vivian Kent. While expecting her first child, she becomes obsessed with finding the truth about Anna Delvey, a con artist who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from some of New York’s most elite socialites.
As Kent closes in on discovering the truth about Anna, she is nine months pregnant and defiant about not giving birth until she finishes her story. The series reaches its climactic ending when Chlumsky’s character goes through emotional labor with her supportive on-screen husband, Jack, played by Anders Holm.
The Veep actor told BuzzFeed the scene she is “most proud of is the labor scene.” Chlumsky explained that although she’s given birth twice in real life, she’s never experienced filming a childbirth scene before.
The working mom of two young kids explained how “cathartic” it was to film a labor scene. She expressed, “It was kind of crazy watching that scene next to my husband. It was really wild.”
Anna Chlumsky loved working with Julia Garner
The 41-year-old actor revealed that of the “most intense moments to film” were her prison chats with Garner. Chlumsky explained that she loves to interact, play, and have heartfelt conversations with other actors.
In the BuzzFeed interview, she said working with somebody as “complex and deep as Julia Garner” was wonderful. It made her feel like “the luckiest broad to be able to play with that in the same sandbox.” The My Girl 2 star recalls her favorite scene with Garner was when she brought the finished magazine article to prison for Anna to read. As a viewer, she thought the scene was enjoyable to watch.
Chlumsky said she loved all the scenes she shared with Garner. But this one showed how “they had their hooks into each other,” saying, “that’s just when it really gets freakin’ spicy and juicy.”
Chlumsky is a fan of Shondaland
The Halt and Catch Fire actor is a huge fan of Shonda Rhimes, the producer behind Inventing Anna. Chlumsky enjoyed how she wrote about Vivian’s home life as a wife and mom, making the character more three-dimensional.
Chlumsky explained that she was grateful the writers expanded on so much of Vivian’s backstory. It says something about Rhimes’ integrity and ability to develop such a well-rounded character, according to the actor.
Chlumsky told BuzzFeed she loved how Rhimes didn’t ignore the conflicts working women face while expecting a child. The writers didn’t “leave any stone unturned” when telling Anna’s story through the eyes of everyone involved, according to the Emmy Award nominee.
