Laverne Cox knows exactly what it costs to live in the spotlight, and after stepping into Jonah Hill’s new Hollywood satire Outcome, she says the movie hit closer to home than she expected.
Speaking at the New York premiere of the Apple TV+ film, Cox said the movie’s themes of fame, isolation, and public scrutiny felt uncomfortably familiar. In Outcome, Keanu Reeves plays a troubled actor whose life spins out after he is blackmailed with a compromising video, forcing him into an apology tour and a reckoning with the people he’s hurt.
For Cox, the part wasn’t difficult to understand.
“It hit close to home in a way that was scary and frightening,” the actress said to People, explaining that Reeves’ character is constantly aware that every interaction could be judged, dissected, and turned into a story. “I’ve always had that awareness, too, and it’s debilitating. It really can be.”
Cox, who plays Virginia Allen Green in the film, said that kind of hyper-awareness has changed the way she moves through the world. The Orange Is the New Black star revealed that she rarely goes out and has become increasingly careful about where she goes and who she spends time with.
“Right now, I’m just me, but I also don’t go out much. I have to be really careful. If I can’t get there, I don’t go out,” she said. “It is lonely.” Cox added that she has been single for the past two years.
“The loneliness feels like a sacrifice for the work,” Cox said. “When I’m on set, I’m not lonely at all.”
The actress said the payoff comes the moment filming begins. After recently wrapping both the new film Soapbox with David Duchovny and her role in Outcome, Cox said the long hours, missed nights out, and constant preparation all make sense once she is in front of the camera.
“All the preparation and all the sacrifices I’ve made are worth it when I’m on set, and I’m ready to go and take direction and live truthfully in the imaginary circumstances of the character,” she said.
That same all-in approach appears to have shaped her experience making Outcome. Cox previously revealed that most of her role opposite Reeves plays out in one major sequence she described as “a one-act play within the film.” The movie also features Cameron Diaz, Matt Bomer, David Spade, Kaia Gerber, Roy Wood Jr., and even Martin Scorsese in a supporting role.
The film arrived on Apple TV+ on April 10 and has already sparked conversation for both its stacked cast and its brutal take on celebrity culture. Critics have been far less enthusiastic, with Outcome pulling in largely negative reviews and a 28 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
