Beanie Feldstein understands Monica Lewinsky unlike anyone else, because she had a great teacher: Monica Lewinsky.
Season three of American Crime Story stars the 28-year-old actress as the former White House intern-turned-activist, who happens to also be a producer for this installment. The highly anticipated season, which premieres Sept. 7 on FX, unpacks the affair between former President Bill Clinton and his 22-year-old intern, Lewinsky.
In her cover story interview for W Magazine, Feldstein revealed that she fully understands how Lewinsky found herself at the center of this political controversy. "My task is to be Monica's bodyguard—to put my body in front of hers," she told the publication. "It's my job to portray her pain, because I feel so much for her."
Feldstein highlighted the similarities between herself and Lewinsky—who was recruited to be a co-producer by Ryan Murphy—calling them both "Jewish girls from L.A. who listen to show tunes on the treadmill." Nonetheless, she made it clear that she wasn't in her "comfort place" while portraying the public figure.
"Obviously, I'm queer, so I don't know if I'd flirt with the president, but who knows?" she reflected. "When Clinton shined his light on you, there was no better feeling in the world. It wouldn't matter if you were male, female, nonbinary, queer. When that man put his spotlight on you, the world fell away. And if I was 22 and the most powerful person in the world focused his high beams on me, I would probably do the exact same thing as Monica."
This season has been a long time coming, as the third installment was first announced back in 2019. Thankfully, after scheduling conflicts and pandemic delays, the series is set to debut in about two weeks.
As for Lewinsky's thoughts on the project? She told Vanity Fair in 2019 that she feels "privileged to have this opportunity," adding, "People have been co-opting and telling my part in this story for decades. In fact, it wasn't until the past few years that I've been able to fully reclaim my narrative; almost 20 years later."
In addition to Feldstein, Impeachment: American Crime Story stars Sarah Paulson as Linda Tripp, Clive Owen as President Clinton, Annaleigh Ashford as Paula Jones, Edie Falco as former First Lady Hillary Clinton, Anthony Green as former Vice President Al Gore and Cobie Smulders as Ann Coulter.
You can see how these stars compare to the real-life players by scrolling through the images below!
Paulson was spotted on set of Impeachment: American Crime Story in Los Angeles on April 26.
The actresses are spotted in character on the set of the third season of American Crime Story.
According to multiple reports, The Sopranos actress is set to star as the former first lady, who stood by her husband after he cheated on her with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Lewinsky, then a White House intern, was at the center of the whole scandal when President Bill Clinton pursued an inappropriate relationship with her.
Tripp was a U.S. civil servant who worked with Lewinsky at the Pentagon, and began secretly recording phone conversations with Lewinsky to later hand over as evidence of the relationship.
In 1994, Jones, an Arkansas civil servant, accused President Clinton of sexual harassment. Prosecutor Kenneth Starr uncovered Lewinsky's affair with Clinton in the process of investigating Jones' claims.
The right-leaning pundit authored the 1998 book High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton. She also served as an unpaid legal adviser to Jones during the initial court proceedings.
In January 1998, the founder of the Drudge Report was the reporter to break the news that President Clinton and Lewinsky were involved in a torrid love affair.
The former Arkansas governor became the 42nd U.S. president in 1992. Six years later, he became the second president to be impeached by the House of Representatives, having allegedly committed perjury and obstruction of justice to conceal his affair with Lewinsky.