)
Netflix is gearing up to release its highly-anticipated movie Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil And Vile on Friday, May 3. ICYMI, the biopic stars former High School Musical heartthrob Zac Efron as serial killer Ted Bundy and Lily Collins as his girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer (who also goes by Liz Kendall).
Lily revealed in a new interview with UK talk show This Morning that she ended up meeting Kloepfer in real life to prep for her role. That's pretty important, considering the whole film is told through Kloepfer's perspective.
"She was so gracious, giving me material to look at and speaking to me," Lily said. She also explained that it was "helpful" meeting her.
Still, Lilly noted that she didn't know if Kloepfer was actually planning on seeing the Netflix movie "because it's difficult" (which, fair). "But, within the filming process, she came on set and she was a positive light on set," Lily said. "You wouldn't expect that with what happened. She gave us her support. She's really lovely."
)
)
)
While Netflix's Ted Bundy biopic mainly focuses on Bundy's crimes, Kloepfer has maintained that she had no idea Bundy was capable of murder when they were together. In the movie (and IRL), Kloepfer thought Ted was a loving boyfriend. Of course, now she knows the truth-he was actually a vicious serial killer.
Kloepfer did try to turn in Bundy once, but the police didn't take her tip seriously, according to Conversations With A Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (another Ted Bundy series also on Netflix). A decade later, on January 24, 1989, Ted was executed in Florida after he confessed to murdering 36 women.
Here's everything you need to know about Lily's role in EWSEAV:
Kloepfer eventually wrote a book after his arrest called The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy , that detailed her six-year relationship with Ted. In the book, Kloepfer described herself as a shy woman who gravitated toward Ted because he took care of her. The two had a volatile relationship, but almost got married, according to Biography .
As for the actors, while Lily had a positive experience on set, Zac said playing Ted negatively impacted his mental health . "Ive never played a role in which I have to separate myself. It was almost impossible," he told Metro. "I would like to say I did that successfully, but I couldnt."
"You have to be careful for your own emotions, your own safety," he explained. "...I was able to compartmentalize myself and leave him on set, in the jail cell-most days."
While the film has yet to be released (and is understandably controversial ), here's hoping all of Lily and Zac's work taking on these challenging roles has paid off.