“Woman of the Hour” star and director Anna Kendrick says watching the real Rodney Alcala’s appearance on a dating game show “really informed” his character in the Netflix thriller.
Alcala, a convicted serial killer, appeared as a bachelor on an episode of “The Dating Game” in 1978, competing with two other men to win a date with bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw.
Alcala was ultimately convicted of seven murders committed throughout the 1970s in California and New York.
Kendrick says she was struck by the real-life Alcala’s charm in the footage of the game show.
“There’s this kind of boyish, sheepish quality to Rodney when he gets a laugh,” she tells TODAY.com, referring to archival footage available of Alcala’s turn on the show.
“You can see him like a little kid, just excited,” she continues. “And I thought that that was really illuminating about the duality of this horrible person who had these very disarming, child-like qualities that would certainly make you feel like you weren’t in any danger.”
The video from the “Dating Game” episode shows Bradshaw and Alcala’s natural banter over a risqué conversation.
“What’s your best time?” Bradshaw asked Alcala on the show from the other side of a curtain. He replied, “The best time is at night, nighttime.” He later said, “Nighttime is when it really gets good.”
“I am serving you for dinner. What are you called and what do you look like?” Bradshaw asked Alcala at a later point.
“I’m called ‘the banana’ and I look really good,” he answered.
Asked to elaborate, he added, “Peel me.”
At the end of the episode, they stood side-by-side as they heard they won tennis lessons and a trip to an amusement park.
Alcala’s outward charm is chilling in hindsight, considering he had already committed murders when he appeared on “The Dating Game,” unbeknownst to the show’s producers. The host introduced him as a photographer, another unsettling detail, as he often lured victims in by promising to take photos of them.
Some moments from “Woman of the Hour” are closely inspired by the archival game show footage, including the host’s innuendo-filled introduction of Bradshaw.
“She used to work massaging feet, but quit when her boss asked her to work her way up,” host Jim Lange said on the real show, a line repeated nearly verbatim in the movie.
Also, in both the movie and the real dating show, Alcala’s first words to Bradshaw are, “We’re going to have a great time together, Cheryl,” accompanied by a flirtatious smile.
There are some differences between the actual “The Dating Game” footage and the portrayal of the episode in “Woman of the Hour.”
For example, in the movie, Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) is Bachelor No. 3, whereas he’s Bachelor No. 1 in the real show. Also, in the real episode, Bradshaw is introduced as a drama teacher from Phoenix, Arizona, whereas in the movie her character is an aspiring actor.
Despite these minor differences, the film captures the essence of Alcala’s character from the show footage, exploring the dissonance Kendrick mentions between his onstage charisma and his true violent nature.
Bradshaw, in both the movie and the real dating show, chooses Alcala as her winner, with the intention of meeting up with him after the show.
But in real life, the date never took place. The show’s former contestant coordinator Ellen Metzger recalled a conversation she had with Bradshaw after the show wrapped.
“She said, ‘Ellen, I can’t go out with this guy. There’s weird vibes that are coming off of him. He’s very strange. I am not comfortable. Is that going to be a problem?’” Metzger said on “20/20” in 2021. “And of course, I said, ‘No.’”
In the movie, Cheryl does go out with Rodney — and barely makes it out alive.
Kendrick praised Zovatto, who she describes as “so warm and lovely” in real life, for finding a way to identify with the character of Alcala, and approaching the role with nuance.
“(Zovatto) was really willing to make himself the hero of his own story, which I think is difficult when you’re playing someone who’s an irredeemable monster,” she says.
Kendrick said ultimately the movie wasn’t interested trying to find out why Alcala “was the way he was,” or explain his psychology.
“Which is why I feel extra love for (Zovatto), because he had to give a truly bone-chilling, nuanced performance, and he’s not really the center of any scene. That’s a generous thing for an actor to do,” she says.
Alcala was convicted of seven murders throughout his life, though authorities suspect he could have actually been responsible for the deaths of more than 100 people.
He died of natural causes at 77 while on death row in California, according to prison officials. Bradshaw has also since died.
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