‘A Friend Of The Family’ Exclusive: Mckenna Grace Breaks Down Jan & B’s ‘Complicated’ Relationship

Mckenna Grace is stepping into the role of Jan Broberg starting from episode 5 of A family friend. The young actress spoke EXCLUSIVELY with HollywoodLife about her preparation for the role and working with Jake Lacywho plays the kidnapper Jan Robert “B” Berchtold. Mckenna admits it’s a “really complicated and layered thing to try and figure out”.

Mckenna called Jake “one of the most incredible actors” she’s ever worked with and has always felt “very safe” working with him. To delve deeper into Jan and B’s complicated relationship, she’ll read Jan’s old diaries and letters written between Jan and B.

“The whole relationship, they’re very close, but it’s also based on fear,” Mckenna said. But it’s just that Jan doesn’t quite know. Does she love him? She does. She really loves him and cares about him a lot.”

She added, “I just think that’s what makes it so much more heartbreaking, [which] is that she really cares about him and trusts him. That is why it is important to pay attention to these things and be able to be aware and know these types of stories. But it’s a really complicated thing to play and learn with Jake, but I’m so lucky to have Jake as a co-star, co-worker and friend and be able to talk to Jan about it. “

Jan, whose real-life story is the basis for the show, serves as the series’ producer. Mckenna admits that she “wants to be close” to Jan in order to be able to describe her accurately.

“That was my biggest thing about signing on to this role was making sure she played a big part in telling the story and making sure she was okay with it,” Mckenna said. “I wanted to make sure everything I was doing was right for her because playing a real person was scary, but it meant a lot about her being open and honest with me. like and she’s open and honest with all of us. It’s great. We would all talk about it on set after talking to Jan or after she visited the set and talked to all of us. She speaks beautifully, wonderfully and powerfully. It’s surprising to see. She is such a wonderful person, and overall I am very happy to have her in my life. Not even having to play her… I’m just happy to know her. “

The Peacock series chronicles the Broberg family as Jan is kidnapped multiple times over the course of the years by their obsessed, manipulative family friend. B has weaved a tangled web that affects so many people around.

Mckenna notes that she’s “honored” to be part of something that not only tells her story but creates awareness. Watching this, I hope people learn a lot about manipulators and about these types of people because it’s so easy to sit back and watch something and say, ‘If that happens, if that’s me, this will never happen. I will never make that decision. ‘ That’s easy to say and judge someone based on what you hear. But honestly, you never know. It can happen to any of us from anyone we know. I hope that watching the show that people will learn. “New episodes of A family friend drop on Thursdays on Peacock.