Kristen Lee Gutoskie knew that portraying “Octomom” Natalie “Nadya” Suleman would be a big undertaking — but that didn’t stop her from rising to the challenge.
The 36-year-old Canadian actress, who stars as Suleman in Lifetime‘s original biopic, I Was Octomom: The Natalie Suleman Story, opened up about going inside the surreal world of Octomom while chatting exclusively with Parade ahead of the film’s network premiere on Friday, March 8.
Courtesy of Kristen Lee Gutoskie
Suleman, who was already a mother of six, made international headlines in January 2009 when she gave birth to octuplets.
“Honestly, I didn’t know a ton [about her]. I knew of her,” Gutoskie begins. “I remember some of the imagery of her being pregnant and having a lot of babies, and then I kind of recently saw some press with her [and] her kids growing up, and thought that was really interesting. But I didn’t know a ton [about] the whole tabloid media sensation, so I had to do a ton of research and I had limited time, but I immersed myself in it.”
Noting that she “wanted to speak with [Suleman]” right after getting the part, Gutoskie tells Parade that she actually didn’t get to talk to Suleman — who narrates the film while Gutoskie reenacts scenes from her life — until recently.
Courtesy of Kristen Lee Gutoskie
“What was really wonderful about it is when I finally got to speak to her, she felt really happy with how we represented her,” says Gutoskie. “She said it was spot on, and she was very emotional and very grateful for how it all turned out.”
She continues, “When you’re playing a real person, there’s a lot more pressure of like, ‘OK, they’re gonna watch this.’ Our goal was never to make a caricature. [Our goal was] to try and really make her a real human being, because she is a human being. I was a little nervous, but [when I] spoke to her, she [was] like, ‘No one else could have played this.’ That was so nice to hear, and that her kids really felt it was convincing. I was like, ‘If I got the kids on board then I’m OK.’ I was really nervous about how the kids would feel because they’re the super important part of this story as well.”
Gutoskie goes on to tell Parade that while “a lot of it was truthful” because “most of [the movie] was written from Natalie’s words,” there was only so much they could squeeze into a 90-minute production.
“There might have been more press happening in her real life, or more paparazzi around than we kind of had a chance to put in all the scenes in the film,” she says. “I don’t think they were able to include everything in the film. But in terms of true to life and true to Natalie’s perspective and what her experience was, it was all truthful coming from her point of view.”
As for what’s next for Gutoskie, the actress and new mom tells Parade that she’s “really putting my focus into releasing music.”
“I released my first-ever single in January. It’s called ‘Stardust,’ and we released a live performance of the video a few weeks ago. And a week after I Was Octomom comes out, I’ll be releasing my second single, and then we have the full EP coming in the summer.”
She adds, “Finally getting music out is my huge priority. And just enjoying being a mama to my sweet son.”
Related: Is the Lifetime Movie ‘Mommy Meanest’ Based on a True Story?