Why did Sunny in Hulu’s THE DROPOUT seem so familiar?
I’m trying to remember, but I keep getting…LOST
Much has been written about Elizabeth Holmes, the heralded/exposed CEO of Theranos. The company promised to revolutionize the practice of medicine — to doubt their mission was to doubt Elizabeth.
And now a court trial has delivered the coup de grace to her fall from grace. That fall began with her father being let go from the famously fraudulent energy company Enron…to Theranos and their CEO Elizabeth Holmes being convicted in public and legal courtrooms of criminal fraud.
But while Elizabeth’s long-time personal and professional partner Sunni remained a frequent face in her saga, he didn’t become a central figure until the explosive allegations and just-as-stunning evidence presented during the trial.
So why, if we’re not really familiar with Sunny, does the person playing him in Hulu’s knockout limited-series THE DROPOUT feel so familiar?
NAVEEN ANDREWS
Amanda Seyfried and Naveen Andrews on the ‘uniquely disconcerting’ nature of making ‘The Dropout’ (offsite to EW)
ANDREWS: Once I started to research his background, the idea of a Hindu being born in the Sindh province in what is now Pakistan, that was interesting to me — in terms of displacement. His sense of identity, or lack of, and what that does to somebody deep inside, that was something that intrigued me. And then of course, the fact that I made decisions very early on, that he was desperately in love with Elizabeth Holmes. It started with her, I think. So there was a romantic aspect to the story as well [that surprised me].
SEYFRIED: Naveen understood exactly what needed to come across, and his instincts always steered us in a more interesting direction. - “Amanda Seyfried and Naveen Andrews on the ‘uniquely disconcerting’ nature of making The Dropout” By Lauren Huff (offsite links)
I can only begin to wonder how amazing Amanda Seyfried would have been as part of the cast of LOST. I still look back on that series with a hesitating affection. It’s not quite as bad as Game of Thrones (has anyone watched that again since the series finale…?).
But I never know if the LOST series finale on this particular rewatch will sell me on that very sudden left turn ending.
Even M. Night Shyamalan was probably like…wait really?
Or if I’ll find myself writing about it like this. Telling you as far as people in New York go, the series finale is doing fine. It’s fine.
Well, let’s be honest. It’s doing more than fine. LOST made such an enduring cultural impact that it spawned COUNTLESS copycats. Most of them are worth at least one viewing (since most never went past one season), but one or two of them are pretty good!
THE AD
SEE THIS FOR GOOD TV: “‘The Wilds’ Review: No Spoilers, But Amazon’s Teen Girl Take on ‘Lost’ Is an Addictive Ride” (offsite link)
SEE THIS FOR A GOOD MOVIE: Sweetheart (2019), starring incredible non-binary actor Kiersey Clemons (they/them) from Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) and the upcoming movie The Flash (2023) (offsite links)
SEE THIS FOR A GOOD WTF: Wait…Thanos invested in Theranos?
END AD
No matter what you think of the finale for LOST, one of the brightest spots of the show was Naveen Andrews. He played Sayid Jarrah for the show’s entire run, and whether he was a bonafide hero or resurrected into darkness, Naveen brought depth and warmth to an infinitely complex character. Even at his worst, I could never look away.
I have to think that was in part due to Naveen recovering from a compulsive relationship with heroin and alcohol.
“Compulsive relationship” is what most people refer to as an addiction. IDK, I’m following the Gabor Mate model (check out his book When the Body Says No on Audible) where addiction isn’t so much a THING as it is a manifestation of a compulsive relationship with something or someone.
TRANSGENDER SOAPBOX RECOMMENDS: Dr. Gabor Maté ~ Who We Are When We Are Not Addicted: The Possible Human (YouTube)
That compulsive relationship can be with a person just as much as a drug. As for Naveen, one person in particular shook him into surrender.
“You can take incredible abuse and still work… I collapsed on a job because of booze. When I was younger… it was a miracle I got any work done. On The English Patient I was warned. But I used to collapse out of shot.”
He added that he had finally kicked the habit because of his son, saying: “The turning point was I drove my son when I was drunk and he was scared, and that’s when I decided to go into rehab in LA. — “‘Lost’ star reveals heroin addiction” by Beth Hilton (offsite link)
While many people (some say most) eventually succumb to our addictions, those who keep coming back (and are fortunate enough to find surrender) find themselves reshaping their sense of self and their very lifestyle to match the pursuit of serenity.
SEE ALSO: Naveen Andrews Interview On Jonathan Ross About Career, Addiction, And Recovery (offsite link to YouTube)
Generosity is no longer an opportunity for success. It’s an opportunity for service.
Just so in Hulu’s The Dropout (offsite link), Naveen leaves plenty of space for other worthy stars to take credit. More than that, he makes sure he’s one of the people giving that credit.
ANDREWS: I remember very early on, we were shooting a scene and there was a break — and Amanda came up to me dressed as Elizabeth in the black suit and lipstick, just walked straight towards me [and used the voice], and it was like, whoa. You hope that those mechanics will approach something real, and when that happens, it is quite thrilling.
ANDREWS: Because to a certain extent, you take a gamble and you just hope to Christ that you’re making the right decision.
ANDREWS: We’d get [new pages] the next day when we were shooting. And I have to say, this was a great experience for lots of reasons, but obviously a lot of my scenes were with Amanda, and she was always open to [the last-minute changes]. Because I’m old, my reaction is more like, Why? It’s a bit late in the day… — “Amanda Seyfried and Naveen Andrews on the ‘uniquely disconcerting’ nature of making The Dropout” By Lauren Huff (offsite link)
FINAL THOUGHTS
If you weren’t already a fan of Naveen Andrews, can you help but be one now?
If you were already a fan of Naveen Andrews…are you going to tell me your favorite quote from Sens8 in the comments?
ADDITIONAL READING (offsite links)
AND NOW FOR…
SOMETHING FUN: What I Am Not Is Not What I Am (A Rare Poem From a Never Poet)
SOMETHING SERIOUS: A new name for A-N-X-I-E-T-Y
THE END (DAMN GIRL, THAT’S DARK)
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IP REFERENCED The Dropout, LOST, Game of Thrones, Bad Robot Productions, Theranos, Enron, Elizabeth Holmes, Hulu, EW, M Night Shyamalan, Michelle Wolf, C-SPAN (lol), White House Correspondents Dinner, The Wilds, Amazon, Sweetheart, Kiersey Clemons, Amanda Seyfried, Naveen Andrews, The Flash, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Gabor Mate, When the Body Says No
