Watch: ‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story’ Unveils Bloody First Look at Ella Beatty as the Accused Murderer
Ella Beatty knows she comes from a monstrous family legacy.
The daughter of Warren Beatty and Annette Bening revealed the most important piece of advice she got from the iconic stars as she embarked on her role as acquitted killerLizzieBorden in the upcoming Netflix series Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.
“Listening,” Ella exclusively shared with E! News’ Will Mafuggi. “As an actor in a scene—always being more curious about what the other person is doing.”
“Get interested rather than be interesting, but also to listen and observe and watch more generally,” she added of their advice. “You never want to be the smartest person in the room. Just really listening is what I learned most from them.”
And when it came to her famous folks, Ella knew she was very lucky to have learned from two actors like Warren, 89, and Annette, 68.
“They’re such incredible artists, and also so different from one another,” Ella raved. “And also have such different careers from each other.”
Of course, being the daughter of Hollywood royalty also means that she and her mother are always looking for a way to work together.
“What a dream! She’s my favorite actress in the world and my hero and my best friend,” the 26-year-old exclaimed. “We kind of dream about it all the time. That would be a dream come true.”
And so far for Ella, every part of her acting journey has been a total and utter dream.
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“The whole thing has been really surreal, and I’ve just tried to meet every moment,” she confessed. “I come from a really collaborative environment in theater so this was a super different experience for me. I hope I can meet it.”
Despite the differences between acting on the stage and acting on the small screen, the Broadway star knew that taking on the role of Lizzie Borden—who was accused of killing both her father (CharlieHunnam) and stepmother (Rebecca Hall) in 1892—was a chance she could not pass up.
“I read the audition sides and had a very instinctive connection to them, which doesn’t happen all the time,” she explained. “Sometimes you get auditions and you think, ‘I don’t know how to connect to this.’ I felt so connected to it right away.”
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The role also gave the opportunity to “create a person” based on what was in the script and what is known about the real-life Lizzie Borden, an experience that was amplified by the fact that she was playing the first female lead in Ryan Murphy’s Monsters franchise.
“Even by nature of her being the first female monster, I felt the difference there,” she explained. “I was so excited by that opportunity to interrogate that theme.”
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story premieres on Netflix Sept. 17.
For more shows hitting the small screen this year, keep reading.
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