“That almost killed me": Julianne Moore on learning Sarah Palin’s accent for a role

The "May December" star spoke to Andy Cohen about the particular challenges of playing the Republican VP nominee

By Joy Saha

Staff Writer

Published December 6, 2023 2:33PM (EST)

In this handout photo provided by NBCUniversal, Julianne Moore accepts the best actress award for Mini-Series or TV Movie, "Game Change" on stage during the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel International Ballroom on January 13, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
In this handout photo provided by NBCUniversal, Julianne Moore accepts the best actress award for Mini-Series or TV Movie, "Game Change" on stage during the 70th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel International Ballroom on January 13, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California. (Paul Drinkwater/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

"May December" star Julianne Moore revealed just how challenging it was to nail Sarah Palin’s accent in preparation for playing the former governor of Alaska in the HBO film “Game Change.” 

On Monday’s episode of Andy Cohen’s “Watch What Happens Live,” the actor was asked whether it was more difficult to speak with a lisp in her new Netflix film “May December” or pick up Palin’s regional vernacular in the 2012 political drama. She shared that it was the latter:

“The thing that was really, really hard was Sarah Palin’s voice. That almost killed me,” Moore said. “I listened to nothing else for months on end. I took all the music off my phone and just listened to her voice constantly.”

Based on the 2010 book of the same name, “Game Change” centers on John McCain's 2008  presidential election campaign. Alongside Moore, the film stars Ed Harris as McCain, Woody Harrelson as Steve Schmidt, and Sarah Paulson as Nicolle Wallace.

Moore previously spoke about how she prepared for her standout role during a 2021 interview with Willie Geist on TODAY.

“I started listening to her voice and watching every recording I could and reading all the books and watching that TV show that she did,” she said. “And I literally did nothing. I didn't go out. I just spent all of my time kind of studying it.”

Watch the original trailer for HBO's "Game Change," via YouTube.


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