Tony award-winner Annaleigh Ashford is opening up about her new role in the true crime drama “Happy Face,” the series’ meaningful approach and how she prepared to play a serial killer’s daughter.
“While it’s always nerve-wracking to play people who are living and exist in the world, I felt like it was really important to share her story and her point of view,” Ashford said in an interview with “CBS Mornings” about Melissa G. Moore. The Paramount+ series is inspired by Moore’s story. She discovered as a teenager that her father, Keith Jesperson, was a serial killer known as the “Happy Face” killer.
“It’s her life story, she has been a really important advocate for people in the true crime space – not just for families of perpetrators but also for the families of the victims of perpetrators.”
Jesperson confessed to killing eight women between 1990 and 1995. Moore’s father is played by Dennis Quaid in the series. The show doesn’t show any violence, but instead viewers hear about what happened.
“You hear Dennis’ character talk about the crimes that he’s committed and in some way I think that’s more terrifying,” Ashford said.
Preparing for the series
In “Happy Face,” Ashford’s character keeps letters that her father sent her from prison.
Ashford had an opportunity to read the real letters from Moore’s father in her preparation for the show.
“It felt like I was peeking into a part of her psyche and a part of her life that I actually didn’t need to as an actor. … She (Moore) didn’t read a lot of them,” Ashford explained.
After reading some, Ashford said she didn’t feel the need to continue.
“I felt a little uncomfortable … you know and it’s something I can kind of fill in the gaps with my imagination,” she said.
Those letters, which were used in helping to write the series, are now gone after the showrunner’s home burned in the Altadena fires.
“When Melissa found out, it was a moment of reflection and a realization that she never really knew what to do with them,” Ashford said.
Advocacy for victims
Ashford credits Moore — who is an executive producer and makes a cameo in the pilot — for her help on the show to be mindful of victims and their families while telling the story.
“She really helped us keep from retraumatizing the victims who are involved in this crime and the victims family and that is something that is important in these true crime shows,” Ashford said. “We often forget that families of the victims are retraumatized by the telling of the stories.”
Moore’s father remains in jail serving multiple life sentences.
