Emmy Rossum understood the assignment. The Shameless alum transforms into the mysterious billboard icon Angelyne in Peacock’s new limited series. From voluminous platinum blonde hair to blue contacts to massive prosthetics boobs to the high-pitched voice, Emmy is totally unrecognizable in her latest role.
“Since I was a little girl, I’ve known fame is my destiny. Huge, gigantic fame,” Angelyne says in the trailer. When billboards featuring Angelyne begin popping up around Los Angeles, she gets the fame she’s always wanted. But with that fame comes questions, many Angelyne doesn’t want to answer.
“Contrary to what people think, I’m actually very private. People should respect that,” Angelyne admits. The trailer also features characters calling Angelyne the “devil in disguise” and saying “money is her bottom line, not people.”
So, who is Angelyne? The real Angelyne. That’s what the show is going to try to explain. No matter what she’s willing (and not willing) to say, Angelyne was a trailblazer in a pre-social media era.
“As a society broadening our understanding of identity, this story plays with large questions. Are we defined by the historical facts of our life? Or can we define ourselves? To self-actualize, to embrace whoever we are on the inside and live whatever truth feels most accurate. When everyone’s experience of reality and truth is personal, can there ever be one true story? I’ve spent the better part of 4 years thinking, living, and breathing this project. I love Angelyne. She’s as if Marilyn Monroe got into an easy bake oven with a 80s punk Barbie Doll, and a dose of new age spirituality. She’s a trailblazer, a hustler, a visionary, the original influencer, a living-breathing piece of art. Here is a little taste of the show. I hope you fall in love with her magic,” Emmy said in a statement.
Angelyne also stars Martin Freeman, Hamish Linklater, Michael Angarano, Molly Ephraim, Philip Ettinger, Lukas Gage, Charlie Rowe, Alex Karpovsky, and David Krumholtz. All episodes of the series will drop May 19 on Peacock.