Imogen Faith Reid was sitting in a restaurant with her best friend when she got the news that she was cast as Natalia Grace, the controversial Ukrainian adoptee whose story shocked the nation, in “Good American Family.”
The 27-year-old British actor wasn’t too familiar with Grace’s story, but felt ready to take viewers on a roller coaster ride in Hulu’s new series, now streaming.
The show is Reid’s first acting role — and one that is a feat for any actor as it touches on polarizing topics and real-life allegations.
“I had to do some research myself,” Reid tells TODAY.com. “And I found it all so fascinating that I just wanted to dig right in and take on the role.”
Grace’s story made headlines after one set of her adoptive parents, Michael and Kristine Barnett, were each charged with six counts of neglect of a dependent and two counts of conspiracy to commit neglect of a dependent in 2019. The couple denied the allegations, and Michael Barnett was found not guilty in 2022 following a jury trial. Kristine Barnett’s charges were dismissed.
Grace, who was born with a rare form of dwarfism, was adopted by Michael and Kristine Barnett in 2010, according to a 2021 document from the Court of Appeals in Indiana obtained by TODAY.com.
Imogen Faith Reid, Ellen Pompeo in Good American Family. Disney
The Barnetts came to believe Grace was a grown woman, per a 2021 court document from the Court of Appeals in Indiana obtained by TODAY.com. Following two years of psychological and medical evaluations, the Barnetts successfully petitioned to have Grace’s legal birth year changed to 1989, per the document from the Court of Appeals in Indiana.
Medical records reflect that Grace was, in fact, a child when she was adopted. According to a 2019 affidavit for probable cause, Michael Barnett admitted to knowing she was a child when they left Grace alone in her own apartment in 2013 and moved to Canada with their three biological children. While living on her own, Grace met another set of adoptive parents, Cynthia and Antwon Mans — though now Grace lives with the DePaul family in New York.
Inspired by Grace’s story, “Good American Family” is a fictionalized version of both her and the Barnetts’ perspectives from her adoption, allegations against her, her abandonment and the family’s legal troubles.
The cast, creators and producers of “Good American Family,” starring Ellen Pompeo, Mark Duplass and Imogen Faith Reid.Frank Micelotta / Disney
“Our show does a brilliant job of playing with multiple perspectives and creating our own versions of our characters,” Reid says. “And you really have to watch it all to get the full picture of what’s going on.”
But when it all comes down to it, it’s Reid’s performance that will captivate audiences — and already impressed her co-stars Christina Hendricks, who plays Cynthia Mans, and Mark Duplass, who plays Michael Barnett.
Here’s what to know about Reid and her time on the show.
Casting Imogen Faith Reid as Natalia Grace
Series creator and co-showrunner Katie Robbins tells TODAY.com that making “Good American Family” happen was “contingent” on casting the right actor for the role of Natalia Grace.
“It was such a challenging part, and it lived and died on finding somebody who could play it,” Robbins says, adding that Reid’s audition tape “blew everybody away.”
Born May 1, 1997, Reid had stand-in and body double parts in “The One and Only Ivan,” “The Third Day,” “The Rings of Power” and “The Famous Five” prior to “Good American Family,” according to her IMDB. She’s also done some theater in the past.
The newcomer tells TODAY.com she made a self-tape for her audition, but didn’t think she would be cast because she believed the casting directors would “pick an American actress.”
“I went for it anyway because there was nothing to lose. And I think I had done about 400 takes of that self-tape, and my sister was helping me,” she recalls.
Weeks later, she got the role. “It was just such a surreal, interesting moment. And I’ll never forget that experience,” she says.
Robbins adds that despite Reid’s lack of on-screen experience, “She brought us all in with her emotional accessibility, her vulnerability, her ability to play multiple sides and shades of this character.”
She explains that the role of Natalia is “so challenging” because “not only does she have to play a range of years, but also different versions of the same character.”
Throughout “Good American Family,” Reid had to depict Natalia from the young girl’s perspective, but also from the perspective of other characters in the show.
“And Imogen just had this capacity to hold all of that while still being incredibly vulnerable and accessible and warm,” Robbins says, adding that as an actor, Reid made her want to lean in and watch.
The challenges of portraying Natalia Grace
Portraying Grace came with a set of challenges for Reid, but the actor knew that she was the perfect person for the role.
“I think the biggest thing is I’m a little person, and as a little person, I understand the daily struggles that we go through and the judgment that we perceive in everyday life,” Reid tells TODAY.com.
“So something like that, I knew I could relate to. And also the casting directors, I felt done an amazing job with casting someone like me, who can look young and who can also play older.”
To create her own version of Grace, Reid worked with a dialect coach who helped her go through every script and break down certain sounds and pronunciations.
Duplass, who portrays Natalia’s adoptive father Michael, was just as impressed with Reid’s performance and dedication to her craft.
Aside from this being Reid’s first speaking part on camera — in an American accent, no less — Duplass also pointed out the physicality the role required.
Ellen Pompeo, Mark Duplass, Imogen Faith Reid, and Mary Birdsong in “Good American Family.”Ser Baffo / Disney
“Then you add in that her form of dwarfism is different than Natalia’s dwarfism, so she had to learn a specific physicality that could work inside of her body and feel true to her. She had to build that whole thing out,” Duplass says, adding that Reid was also out of her comfort zone, living in Los Angeles and “thrust right into the identifier of ‘making TV.’”
“And she was just incredible! I was kind of blown away by her every day,” he says.
Hendricks also worked closely with Reid while portraying Natalia’s next adoptive mother Cynthia Mans. While talking to TODAY.com, Hendricks shared how Reid would constantly be working with a dialect coach as “so professional,” “dedicated and yet so playful and easy.”
She adds that they had “immediate chemistry” and quickly became friends.
Separating her character from the real Natalia Grace
Reid tells TODAY.com that she did not reach out to Grace ahead of the project.
“I wanted to play my own version. And something that was really important for me was to portray that light and empowerment,” she says. “Just wanting to fight for that justice and to be seen. Those were some key elements that I wanted to implement.”
Reid may be telling one specific timeline of Grace’s life, but the true story continues to make headlines. Earlier this year, the third season of the documentary series “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace” was released and included the latest on Grace’s life.
The real Natalia Grace in “The Curious Case of Natalia Grace.”YouTube
This January, Grace told People that she was currently living in New York with Nicole and Vincent DePaul in upstate New York.
Reid hopes “Good American Family” teaches people to “not to judge too quickly and always be open to different people’s opinions and perspectives.”
“We’re all different, we’re not the same, everybody’s unique,” Reid says. “We all have lived such different lives, and it’s about just taking that grace for yourself and understanding (that) it’s OK and everybody’s different. That’s what makes us, us.”
Big things ahead for Imogen Faith Reed
Reid hopes “Good American Family” opens more doors for her.
“It would be so amazing. I love this industry, and it’s such an honor to be a part of it,” she says. “Coming away from this, I’ve really seen what I’ve done … I’m proud of how hard I’ve worked to get where I am.”
Duplass agrees, telling TODAY.com that having Reid on set was good for him and co-star Ellen Pompeo.
“We’re like the crotchety veterans who’ve been around a long time,” he jokes. “And she kind of brought us up a little bit … I see big, big things for her.”
