Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass are seen filming Orphan based on the story of a couple who adopted child Natalia Grace whom they came to believe was an adult
Ellen Pompeo was spotted filming her upcoming series Orphan in Los Angeles this week.
She played the role of Kristine Barnett with her co-star Mark Duplass, who plays her husband Michael.
The Grey’s Anatomy star – who will appear in a few episodes of season 20 – wore her hair long and wavy and donned a teal cardigan.
The rest of her clothing was obscured by the actors playing her children who swarmed around her as the fictional family climbed into their SUV. The Morning Show’s Duplass, 47, wore the dad uniform of khaki, a red polo shirt and a black leather jacket.
The show tells the story of Kristine and Michael Barrett and their adoptive daughter Natalia Grace.
The couple adopted Natalia from a Ukrainian orphanage in 2010, believing she was still a child, but they soon come to believe she is much older than she says she is.
Ellen Pompeo was spotted filming her upcoming series Orphan in Los Angeles this week
She played the role of Kristine Barnett with her co-star Mark Duplass, who plays her husband Michael
It is based on the true story of Natalia Grace.
She was abandoned by her adoptive parents two years after they adopted her because they thought she was in her twenties and not a child.
“The series is inspired by the true story of Natalia Grace and the Midwestern couple who adopted her believing she was a little girl with dwarfism, but gradually came to believe she might not be who she said she was.” Deadline reported.
Imogen Faith Reid stars as Natalia in the upcoming Hulu limited series.
The couple was accused of neglect and abandonment of their daughter Natalia in 2019 and had to defend the stories they told about Natalia both in court and in the eyes of the public.
Kristine and Michael were already in the public eye thanks to her best-selling book The Spark, which told the story of raising her scientific prodigy son Jacob.
Orphan is told from multiple perspectives to express the conflicting stories of the characters in the scandal.
Pompeo produces through her production company Calamity Jane.
47-year-old Mark Duplass of The Morning Show wore the dad uniform of khaki, a red polo shirt and a black leather jacket
In December 2023, Grace came face to face with her father, who accused her of being a “sociopath” for pretending to be a child, as cameras captured the tense exchange between the two.
Their meeting was captured in the latest ID documentary ‘Natalia Speaks’, which highlights the latest developments in the case.
The Barnetts alleged that Grace had lied about being a six-year-old Ukrainian orphan with a rare genetic condition that had inherited the family. Instead, they say she was a murderous adult who wants to harm them and their children.
Natalia and Michael sat a few feet apart as Natalia Grace Barnett angrily refuted Michael’s claimsincluding her once towering over the couple as they slept while holding a knife.
“I’ve never been in your room with a knife,” an exasperated Natalia tells Barnett, putting her head in her hands.
“I know what I saw,” Michael replied.
Natalia had an emotional confrontation with former adoptive father Barnett in 2023 in a new docuseries called Natalia Speaks
Natalia refuted Barnett’s claim that she once stood over their bed while sleeping, holding a knife
The showdown was featured in a six-part docuseries titled Natalia Speaks, debuting January 1 at 9/8c on ID.
“This is my side of the story,” Natalia said of the series, adding, “Do I look like a monster to you?”
She also promises to address some of the wild accusations that have been made against her, including that she tried to kill her adoptive family.
“In every lie there is a hidden truth, but you have to dig enough to see it,” she added. “They can’t get away with this.”
Gracie also claims she has “lost her youth” after the Barnetts asked a judge to change her legal age to 22.
The Barnetts were taken into custody in 2019 on charges of child neglect after leaving Natalia in an Indiana apartment while they moved to Canada after changing ages.
Natalia was placed in an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana, by her adoptive parents in 2011 after they suspected she was much older than she claimed.
The Barnetts left Natalia alone in an apartment, raising the concerns of neighbors
The Barnetts were accused of neglecting their child after dumping Natalia in the early 2010s and moving to Canada after petitioning the court to move her birth year back 14 years, which was granted. Kristine’s charges were dropped while Michael was acquitted last year
In the meantime, Ellen is busy.
In addition to Orphan, she is expected to return to her beloved character Dr. Meredith Gray in at least four episodes of the remaining episodes of Grey’s Anatomy season 20.
She was brought back from a series regular to a recurring series after announcing her departure from Grey’s in November 2022.
Last season, Pompeo appeared in less than 10 of the 20 episodes before being written out in the finale after her character moved to Boston.
She is expected to continue doing her signature voiceover for the show, which started in season one in 2005.