Kaitlyn Dever | Unfiltered

[laughing] I just thought about the one part

where Belle says, Journey,

and she sort of like cringes at her [laughing] own thing.

I was just like recalling that

from one of the episodes,

and then I just said it.

What I really appreciated about my first meeting

with Sam Strauss

was just that she really wanted

to focus on this being

like our version of Belle Gibson

and really kind of work with her

to create what that will be.

Because at the end of the day,

like I don't even really think we'll ever know

who the real Belle Gibson is anyway, so.

Of course, I did look at the 60 Minute interview,

'cause that's a very famous [laughing] interview.

And that's really the only like video I had of her,

or like material I had on her.

And I guess, in approaching the role,

I wanted to sort of pull

from the essence of her in that video.

But then aside from that,

I was really kind of creating a character with Sam Strauss.

Honestly, keeping track of where she was emotionally

was the biggest,

and also the accent as well, like, [laughing]

but I had to create like a full-on spreadsheet

for just day-to-day stuff

was like kind of a lot to take on,

'cause we were just doing

like Episode 1 and Episode 7 all in one day,

and I just wanted to be able to make sure

that I was keeping track of where she was at emotionally

within the story.

But it was a lot to take on, she's a lot. [laughing]

I think we definitely do explore

what she really was craving in her life

and what she was lacking in her childhood,

and I think that that allows,

I guess, for empathy in many ways.

And I think that was also helpful for me

kind of taking on the character,

and like obviously she did

this terrible, horrible, unforgivable thing,

but I think she also is a person,

this whole thing was sort of a cry for help in many ways.

And she definitely was someone that needed help.

And I think that, yeah, those are kind of my thoughts.

Like she just is someone that really was craving love

and community and friends,

and was gonna do anything she could to get that.

My mom was actually able to read all of the scripts,

all of the episodes.

And she loved it, she was obsessed with the role

and the show as a whole.

She loved it.

I think I, also, yeah, I sort of,

because of all of the research

I had started to do in the last like three years of her life

on holistic care and non-conventional therapies,

in addition to the conventional therapies

that she was doing,

I think I also,

it just, yeah, it felt like really crazy timing

when this story came into my life,

'cause I was like, Whoa,

like I feel like this is such a specific part

of the world of cancer

that no one really talks about.

And even like the Milla storyline with her mother,

like that storyline like really, really speaks to me

in so many ways, obviously.

But I think it was just, I felt a certain,

like, I don't know, I felt a certain duty

to sort of take on this story,

and because I did know so much about it.

I'm like, Wow, I honestly have researched

coffee enemas like crazy

and juicing and all of that.

And yeah, it definitely just felt like,

Oh, this fell into my lap for a reason,

and I don't really know why.

But yeah, it was an incredibly hard time in my life too,

and it was a really honestly hard thing to do,

to have to leave my family at such a like critical time

in my mom's journey.

[laughing] And I just thought about the one part

where Belle says, Journey,

and she sort of like cringes at her [laughing] own thing.

I was just like recalling that from one of the episodes,

and then I just said it.

[laughing] But yeah, I felt like my mom

was so excited for me,

and she was thrilled

that I got to go play

an Australian lady in Australia. [laughing]

And I think she was like really proud of me

and like what an exciting opportunity

that would be just as a person and an actor

to be able to take on such a difficult role.

So I was doing her proud. [laughing]

I think it just, it's I think we need more and more of it.

And there's so much to the both of these stories

that are so nuanced,

and I have, I think, such a passion

for telling stories about real and raw women.

And I think, ever since I did Unbelievable specifically,

I don't know, I think that also

was an incredibly important story to tell specifically.

And after doing that,

seeing what that did for so many other women

and women coming up to me and sharing their stories

after seeing Unbelievable,

and being so grateful

that that kind of show exists out there

and that we're talking about that

and bringing awareness to it,

I think that that really,

it was kind of like the first time

I'd ever done that kind of show.

And from that moment moving forward,

like I really kind of wanna seek out those kinds of stories,

'cause, yeah, it's important to talk about

the things that we don't talk about.

There's something about being around my sisters

that makes me feel like I'm on top of the world. [laughing]

Knowing them, learning from them,

getting to be their big sister.

Like, yeah, we just had a sleepover last night

and I just like am constantly reminded of how grateful I am

to have them in my life.

And I could actually start crying about it.

But yeah, that's what makes me feel empowered as a lady

and having all those ladies around me

[laughing] all the time.

They're the best.