Dree Hemingway explains why she previously sent Daryl Hannah a letter
NEED TO KNOW
In Love Story, the 38-year-old actress plays a younger version of the 65-year-old star who dated the late John F. Kennedy Jr. before his marriage to Carolyn Bessette Kennedy
"I didn't want to make her feel awkward if that were something that she didn't want to do or something," Hemingway said of the letter
Dree Hemingwayis making her appreciation forDaryl Hannahclear.
In an interview withNylonpublished on March 4, the 38-year-old actress, who portrays a younger version of Hannah, 65, inRyan Murphy'sLove Story, said she reached out to the actress and activist through a letter.
"It was really just a love note to her saying how much I admired her, how much I've admired her as an actress and a woman, prior to even being cast as Daryl. How much I really just fell in love with her as a human being," Hemingway explained, referring to a conversation she previously had withThe Hollywood Reporter.
For the FX series, Hemingway plays a dramatized role of theSplashactress during her relationship with the lateJohn F. Kennedy Jr.,before and during his whirlwind romance with wifeCarolyn Bessette.
"I watched interviews and that feeling of really spending time with somebody you've never spent time with, but researching," she continued. "That was really the note, and just not like, 'Hey, I want to meet you or talk to you.' Just, like, 'It was really an honor of my lifetime to be able to portray you and research you.' "
While Hemingway toldNylonshe would have loved to speak directly to Hannah, her "nerves" likely would have gotten the best of her.
"I also didn't want to intrude in any way. I didn't want to make her feel awkward if that were something that she didn't want to do or something," she said.
At the time the interview was published, Hannah reportedly had not responded to Hemingway, which the actress said she's okay with as she just wanted to show her admiration for the person she saw as "a person, a philanthropist."
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"I also think [she needs] her own time. The show's just come out; I'm sure there's a lot to digest there and stuff like that," Hemingway said. "What I really want to emphasize is that this is a dramatization. We are not exactly portraying her or how something went down. There's a fiction involved in all of this. With any person that you loved and you were dating, I'm sure it's a hard thing. So, I think that it's nice to respect that and her."
Just two days after Hemingway's interview withNylonwas published, Hannah shared her feelings about her portrayal in the "tragedy-exploiting television series" in an op-ed with theThe New York Times.
"The choice to portray her as irritating, self-absorbed, whiny and inappropriate was no accident," she wrote, linking out to an interview with one of itsproducersabout why she was not consulted regarding the show.
"The character 'Daryl Hannah' portrayed in the series is not even a remotely accurate representation of my life, my conduct or my relationship with John," she continued, denying the use of cocaine, pressuring Kennedy into marriage, and desecrating family heirlooms, as portrayed in the series.
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"When so many people watch a dramatization that uses a real name, real-life consequences follow," Hannah said in her lengthy piece, later adding, "Real names are not fictional tools. They belong to real lives."
A rep for Hannah did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Love Storyis now streaming on Hulu.
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