‘Inventing Anna’: Julia Garner Reveals What Surprised Her When She Met the Real Anna Delvey
Julia Garner didn’t anticipate the real Anna Delvey/ Sorokin to be so charming even though she transformed herself into the Russian-born German fake heiress in the Netflix series, Inventing Anna.
Based on a true story, Inventing Anna recounts Delvey’s rise in the Manhattan financial sector when she posed as a wealthy heiress intent on creating her own upscale social club, The Anna Delvey Foundation. Delvey scammed powerhouse banks, luxury hotels, and a few friends along the way until she was ultimately arrested.
Garner’s convincing performance was compelling, bringing Delvey’s stark often cold remarks and calculating moves to light. She studied her unique accent and style but was surprised by how likable she was when they met.
Julia Garner was surprised by how likeable and charming Anna Delvey was
Garner met with Delvey while she was still in prison and revealed what really struck her. “The thing that struck me that I did not, I didn’t expect – I really don’t even know really how to describe it – was how bubbly she was at moments, and how likable she was and how charming she was, and how quickly she can go from light to dark and dark to light in seconds,” she recalled to IMDb.
She also described to Elle that the entire experience of meeting Delvey was surreal. “She’s very funny, when you meet her in real life, and so I knew there had to be that comedic aspect to the show,” she said.
“Very funny, very likable, and she wanted to talk, as much as she was able to,” Garner continued. “But I also still don’t think that she thinks she did anything wrong. I think she just wanted power, and prestige, and success, and she was still thinking like that. It seemed like her perspective was still that she didn’t do anything wrong, that she was just doing everything it took to get to where she should be. I don’t think she sees a difference between being hungry, and being ambitious.”
Developing Anna’s accent was a challenge
Garner also shared with Elle that capturing Delvey’s accent was immensely challenging. “This is probably the hardest job I’ve ever done,” she said.
“It’s German, but then she grew up in Russia, so you hear a little bit of the Russian inflection alongside the German. But then the musicality of it is more American,” she added. “A lot of times, people coming from Europe to live in America, their accents starts to shift. And Anna especially does that anyway, she kind of embodies whoever she’s hanging out with. She’s struggling a lot with her own identity, so you see her pick up on traits from whoever she’s hanging out with.”
She shared with IMDb which of Delvey’s phrases from Inventing Anna was her favorite to say in the accent. “The one that makes me laugh every time I see it, I’m crying on the phone and I’m saying ‘I’m all on my own!’ I just think it’s so funny,” she shared. “It just came out, I wasn’t even aware of what I was doing. My accent was very strong there because I was emotional, and I had my wall down. Well, Anna did.”
What happened to those iconic Celine glasses?
Garner also dished about being on the Inventing Anna set and said filming in Morocco was the most memorable location. Plus, which days were the most luxurious? Every day, minus the jail scenes!” she exclaimed to IMDb. “I was like I’m going to wear my Chanel, and Prada and Givenchy…. You know.”
Speaking of fashion, she said most of the dresses and those iconic Celine glasses went into the archives. “I got to keep a few things… a lot of it went also to archives,” she said. “I can’t keep the babydoll Alaïa dress with the Celine glasses just because that is the iconic Anna Delvey outfit. Also, I don’t know where I would wear that – people would be like ‘oh that’s what you wore on Delvey’ which is totally fine, I don’t mind that but… you know.”
