‘The Girl From Plainville’: 1 Photo of Conrad Roy III Had Colton Ryan ‘Bawling’
Hulu‘s newest true-crime series, The Girl from Plainville tells the story of Michelle Carter, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter involving the death of Conrad “Coco” Roy III. Colton Ryan portrays Roy in the series. He researched Roy’s life to prepare for the role, and one photo of Roy had the actor in tears.
Who was Conrad Roy III?
While the Hulu series The Girl from Plainville will no doubt give attention to Michelle Carter’s trial in future episodes, the series is also exploring the life of Conrad Roy III. Roy had mental health problems and attempted suicide multiple times before his death at 18 years old. Of course, Roy’s death still came as a shock and a devastating blow to his family and friends.
According to heavy.com, at the time of Roy’s death, he had graduated from Old Rochester Regional High School and was accepted to Fitchburg State University. As depicted in The Girl from Plainville, he also spent some time working on a tugboat alongside his father.
Colton Ryan got emotional while preparing to play Conrad Roy III in ‘The Girl from Plainville’
While The Girl from Plainville takes its inspiration from true events, the series takes plenty of creative liberties. Still, actor Colton Ryan dove into gathering information about his character for the show. “When I first started researching, they sent us a whole Dropbox, the research and the court documents and timelines,” he told Variety.
“But I immediately went to the pictures, and the first picture I saw was one from Coco’s graduation day. That’s when I put two and two together that we graduated high school the same year. Something about that photo, I just started bawling my eyes out because I have that same photo,” Ryan continued.
“It’s the same quality iPhone camera. It’s the same, sort of, Facebook filter, and he’s flanked by both his sisters. I have the same photo of me. I just felt it in my bones — I knew what that was like to be that age. And obviously, it’s two different roads, two different paths, but that’s what broke my heart about it. The more and more I got to know him, I just feel really connected.”
Ryan told Variety that he felt a “profound need” to take on this role in The Girl from Plainville. The series covers extremely sensitive subject material, something Ryan has experienced in his acting career. Ryan portrayed Connor Murphy, a character who also dies by suicide, in Dear Evan Hanson.
Colton Ryan visited Conrad Roy’s hometown
Ryan’s research into the life of Conrad Roy III included a trip to Roy’s hometown of Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, including the Kmart parking lot where he died, Variety says. Ryan was also able to speak with an unnamed member of the Roy family.
“I really wanted to just know what the other parts of the days looked like — the times with his mom and sisters, the guys in the boat talking about how he’s funny, imaginative, whip-smart, sarcastic,” Ryan told Variety.
“He sent memes back and forth to his mother. Things that are just full of joy, full of lightness. I wanted to know what that really looked like. That was my mission — to remind people that as complicated as it was, he was a boy first and foremost, and he lived a life.”
How to get help: In the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or text HOME to 741-741 to speak with a trained crisis counselor at the free Crisis Text Line.
