‘The Dropout’: What’s the Deal With Elizabeth Holmes’ Unblinking Eyes?
The Dropout star Amanda Seyfried nailed her portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes in the Hulu series. She tackled several of Holmes’ odd mannerisms, such as her deep baritone voice and habit of staring with wide, unblinking eyes. And let’s not forget the constant black turtlenecks. Fans might know that Holmes wore the turtlenecks to emulate Steve Jobs, but what’s the deal with her not blinking?
Amanda Seyfried captured Elizabeth Holmes’ mannerisms in ‘The Dropout’
Seyfried did her homework when preparing to play Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. She adopted Holmes’ signature deep voice and put a lot of effort into getting it right. In fact, Seyfried practiced the voice so much that she became worried she was damaging her vocal cords.
“I would be talking like Elizabeth and [my throat would] get a little sore,” Seyfried told the Los Angeles Times. “And I’d be like: this can’t happen. Like, this is freaking me out. Am I going to be able to do this for weeks?” Seyfried even sought out her vocal coach, Liz Caplan, to make sure she wasn’t harming her voice. “At first I was f***ing scared,” the actor said.
Many people have noted the real Holmes has an unblinking stare
Seyfried also noticed and tackled other aspects of Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. “People are always talking about the voice. It’s the first thing people mentioned. Second is the turtleneck; third is the non-blinking,” the actor told the LA Times.
John Carreyrou, the writer for The Wall Street Journal responsible for breaking the Theranos story, has also commented on Elizabeth Holmes’ stare. “Her eyes are part of her magic stare. They’re part of her charisma. She seems to be able to look at people intently without blinking longer than the average human being can,” he said in a Wall Street Journal video.
Of course, Holmes never revealed the meaning behind her unblinking eyes. But Refinery29 used the knowledge of Lilian Glass, a body language expert, to put this mannerism into context. The expert called unwavering eye contact “sociopathic” and revealed that staring can be a sign of deception.
“You don’t want to lose eye contact because you want to seem believable,” she said. “But in essence, if somebody’s not breaking eye contact, they’re lying to you.”
Holmes was able to dupe a lot of people, and perhaps her captivating stare was one part of it. Glass told Refinery29 that staring can be a form of seduction. Per Refinery29, in Carreyrou’s book, Bad Blood, the author wrote, “The way she trained her big blue eyes on you without blinking made you feel like the center of the world.” He added, “It was almost hypnotic.”
Amanda Seyfried dressed the part for her role as Elizabeth Holmes
The baritone voice and wide eyes were an important part of Seyfried’s portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout. The actor also had to dress the part.
Many viewers might know that Holmes began dressing in black turtlenecks to emulate her idol, Steve Jobs. Seyfried adopted this outfit in episode 3. In later episodes, fans can see Seyfried pairing the look with bright red lipstick and her straight blond hair. The resemblance is uncanny.
All episodes of The Dropout are currently streaming on Hulu.
