Podcast Summary: Work in Progress with Sophia Bush

Episode: Work in Progress: Grace Van Patten
Date: October 8, 2025
Host: Sophia Bush
Guest: Grace Van Patten

Overview

This episode features actress Grace Van Patten, the rising star of Hulu’s Amanda Knox series and Tell Me Lies. Host Sophia Bush and Grace engage in an intimate, lively, and at times profound conversation about Grace’s artistic journey, her creative family roots, the transformative experience of portraying Amanda Knox, and navigating public perception as women in the media. The discussion covers everything from childhood dreams, the chaos and joy of acting, to hard-won insights about resilience and self-acceptance.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Childhood, Family, and Creative Roots

Discovering Passion for Acting

• Grace reflects on her younger self not imagining a future as an actor, despite loving school plays and acting classes.

  "Acting was something that I enjoyed so much as a kid ... but it's something I never saw as a career and I think that's because I didn't have as much faith in myself." — Grace Van Patten (06:27)

• She acknowledges the unpredictability of the profession—witnessed up close via her director father—and how that deterred her from seeing it as a viable path.

Creative Family Dynamics

• Grace recalls her parents’ encouragement of creative exploration for her and her siblings.

  "They always encouraged us to, like, find our form of expression, whatever that may be. And for me, it was acting and sports ... those are the bookends of time." — Grace Van Patten (11:23)

• Her middle sister is also an actor, appearing alongside her in the Amanda Knox series, while the youngest is passionate about basketball.

2. Education, Choices, and Early Breaks

Choosing Acting Over Sports

• Grace faced an early fork: choosing between a sports school and a performing arts conservatory. She attended LaGuardia and immersed herself in acting.

Finding Self-Belief

• After high school, Grace took a gap year, exploring other fields such as philosophy and criminal psychology, before her break came serendipitously when a manager discovered her at a birthday party.

  "I think it took somebody believing in me to be like, okay, maybe it's time I can try this and go for it in some type of real way." — Grace Van Patten (17:22)

3. Growing Up in New York, Love for the City

• Despite now splitting time with other cities, New York remains "magic" and formative for Grace.

  "It's just magic. ... I wanted just some sort of change, but I find it so inspiring and so frenetic." — Grace Van Patten (21:35)

4. On-Set Experiences & Mentorship

Nine Perfect Strangers

• Grace recounts the surreal, isolating, yet bonding experience shooting with Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy in Australia during Covid, staying after filming to travel and live in a van.

  "Once I got there and once everyone was so nice ... it was such a beautiful bond between all of us." — Grace Van Patten (24:12)
  "I stayed in Australia for three more months after shooting and lived in a van for a month ... it was unbelievable." — Grace Van Patten (27:06)

Mentorship on Set

• She learned by observing a range of acting techniques and personalities, describing the project as both educational and unique.

5. The Amanda Knox Project: Preparation and Impact

Origin of the Role

• Grace had long dreamed of playing Amanda Knox, calling her agent about it after the 2016 Netflix documentary.

  "I have a vivid memory of calling my agents at the time saying, I, I need to play her." — Grace Van Patten (40:26)

Portraying Amanda’s Humanity

• The series' approach: blending true crime elements with Amanda’s unique perspective, inspired by her favorite movie, Amélie.

  "Having those Amelie-esque sequences that feel like Amanda's essence ... it's a way to understand her and what happened simultaneously." — Grace Van Patten (43:14)

Collaboration with Amanda Knox

• Amanda herself reached out to Grace before the project, and they developed a collaborative partnership.

  "I bugged her for a bit ... she was just so cool and willing to talk to me about anything." — Grace Van Patten (44:13)

Portraying Resilience

• Grace was struck by Amanda’s ability to create purpose and hope, even in unimaginable circumstances (e.g., helping other prisoners learn Italian), inspiring her portrayal.

  "What she made of an unimaginable moment is so inspiring. I can't imagine having that mentality in a situation like that." — Grace Van Patten (48:12)

Societal Attitudes Toward Women

• Both guests reflect on how women—especially those who are “beautiful and brilliant”—are still judged and dehumanized, making projects like this vital.

  "For some reason ... if you were pretty, it meant you were a slut. ... She was demonized in this way because she went away and was falling for a boy." — Sophia Bush (45:04)

Support from Monica Lewinsky

• Both Amanda Knox and Monica Lewinsky’s input helped ground Grace emotionally in her performance, providing a model of resilience and transformation.

6. Navigating Fame, Public Judgment and Social Media

• Grace discusses the weirdness and irrelevance of media narratives and how to protect one’s sense of self amid public scrutiny.

  "All of this talk and publicizing things that, like, ultimately no one cares. ... People don't connect these people ... as people." — Grace Van Patten (58:00)

• Sophia adds wisdom:

  "Don't compare your insides to other people's outsides because that's what that is." — Sophia Bush (59:59)

7. Hopes for Amanda Knox’s Legacy

• Grace’s hope for the series: humanize Amanda Knox and undo years of one-dimensional, tabloid-driven perception.

  "I just hope people understand her more. That was my goal ... I hope it humanizes her a bit more because it's crazy to see people still not see her as a human being." — Grace Van Patten (61:15)

• Sophia reveals Amanda’s praise for Grace:

  "She literally said she was so blown away by you and that she thinks you should win all of the awards." — Sophia Bush (63:16)

8. Work/Life Balance and Being a “Work in Progress”

• Grace talks about seeking a better work-life balance, creating a home and sense of grounding beyond her work, and the struggle to feel purposeful outside acting.

  "I would love to figure out a better work/life balance. I feel like I haven't figured out real life yet and feeling as purposeful as I do when I'm working." — Grace Van Patten (64:31)

• Sophia advises flexibility and allowing oneself permission not to have everything figured out.

  "You have to give yourself a little bit of permission to not have it figured out." — Sophia Bush (66:25)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Young Dreams:
  "I think she'd be amped. I think she'd be really excited. I don't know if she saw all of this in store for her but she was a very curious kid and now that has turned into a curious adult." — Grace Van Patten (06:01)

• On Industry Reality:
  "People assume if you have any connection to the industry that it's going to be so easy for you and you're like, no, no. The people who have connections to the industry often know how absolutely horrible it is." — Sophia Bush and Grace Van Patten (07:25)

• On Amanda Knox:
  "For someone being scrutinized by her behavior so much, I'm like, what? I was just so fascinated by it." — Grace Van Patten (40:26)

• On Portraying Real People:
  "It just made me even more passionate to tell her story as authentically as possible and, like, show as much as possible what she was going through moment to moment. Nobody knows that." — Grace Van Patten (47:07)

• On Resilience:
  "She had gone through so much at that point ... but was still on a mission to, like, take control of her life." — Grace Van Patten (53:18)

• On Social Media & Public Scrutiny:
  "All of this talk and publicizing things that, like, ultimately no one cares. Like, they don't. They're just, like, trying to make money, whatever the motive is." — Grace Van Patten (58:00)

• On Not Comparing:
  "Don't compare your insides to other people's outsides because that's what that is." — Sophia Bush (59:59)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Grace’s Childhood Perspective: 06:01–07:24
• Family & Creative Influence: 11:23–13:04
• Choosing Acting Over Sports: 15:06–17:22
• Gap Year and Finding a Manager: 16:05–17:51
• New York as ‘Magic’: 21:34–22:14
• Filming Nine Perfect Strangers: 23:38–27:06
• Getting the Amanda Knox Role: 40:26–44:13
• Working with Amanda and Monica Lewinsky: 44:13–47:06
• Amanda Knox’s Resilience in Prison: 48:12–50:00
• Navigating Fame and Scrutiny: 57:38–58:38
• Hopes for Amanda’s Legacy: 61:15–63:16
• Grace's Work/Life Balance Reflections: 64:31–68:39

Tone & Style

The episode is warm, candid, and thoughtful. Sophia’s empathetic interviewing style elicits authentic, heartfelt responses from Grace, ranging from humorous sibling anecdotes to sobering meditations on resilience, justice, and maintaining self-worth in a chaotic industry. The conversation is peppered with laughter, “aha” moments, and advice, always circling back to the central theme: embracing the messy beauty of being both a masterpiece and a work in progress.

For Listeners

Whether you’re a fan of Grace Van Patten, fascinated by the Amanda Knox story, or an artist wrestling with purpose and public scrutiny, this episode offers inspiration, wisdom, and reassurance for anyone navigating the grey areas of creative careers, public life, or simply growing up.