Here's How The Cast Of "Candy" Looks In The Show Vs In Real Life
After the downpour of miniseries based on real-life frauds petered out, the sun of miniseries based on real-life murdered housewives has come out to illuminate our screens.
There's HBO's Staircase and Hulu's Under The Banner of Heaven. But the grisliest of them is the murder on which Hulu's Candy is based.
Candy is based on the grisly homicide of Betty Gore by Candy Montgomery in Wylie, Texas on June 13, 1980 (a Friday). The victim had been struck 41 times by a heavy 3-foot-long ax. The murder scene had filled the hearts of those who discovered Betty's corpse with so much horror that they could hardly muster the courage to glance at her face.
The real-life incident that inspired Candy had all the ingredients one usually sees in tremendously popular mystery thrillers: infidelity, a distracted husband, religion, and a very macabre culmination. Unsurprisingly, there's another miniseries based on this tragedy in the making featuring Elizabeth Olsen as the protagonist.
Let's meet the wonderful cast who have brought this sensational story to life.
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Jessica Biel as Candy Montgomery:
A charming, church-going, doting, and dutiful wife and mother, Candy Montgomery was a sexually unsatisfied housewife who sought to quench her carnal thirst by fornicating with a member of her own church who too was a husband and a father. She used to visit Como Motel in Richardson for her sexual escapades. Her community knew her as an upbeat, affable, and helpful woman but she herself probably didn't know that she was capable of such monstrosity.
Jessica Biel in real life:
Melanie Lynskey as Betty Gore:
A sweet, socially awkward, and caring, but sometimes depressed and resentful housewife, whose husband used to meet Candy in a motel to commit adultery. Left to care for the house and kids by herself as her husband was mostly traveling for work, she became even more depressed with no one to help her. She met her end at the hands of her friend Candy who hacked her to death.
Melanie Lynskey in real life:
Timothy Simons as Pat Montgomery:
Pat Montgomery is the amiable but mostly distracted husband of Candy who is totally oblivious to his wife's amatory sessions in a cheap motel. He prefers watching TV to making out with his wife and loves organizing a plethora of activities involving her church members and their kids.
Timothy Simons in real life:
Pablo Schreiber as Allan Gore:
He is the husband of Betty Gore who started a loveless but lustful affair with his wife's friend, Candy Montgomery. His love for his wife apprises him of his follies and he tries to reform himself by ceasing his adultery with Candy. His love and concern for his wife are most apparent in the first episode when he is at a hotel for his work and becomes quite stressed and scared, and persuades his three neighbors to go and check on his wife because she's not answering the phone.
Pablo Schreiber in real life:
Raúl Esparza as Don Crowder:
Don Crowder is the bombastic and stubborn lawyer who defended Candy in court in his first criminal case. As a psychiatric patient himself, he created a spectacle in court when he invited a psychiatrist into the courtroom and had them dig up suppressed memories of Candy Montgomery's childhood trauma. Crowder had to face lots of scorn and opposition from the local community for defending what they called a "brazen hussy." His life too ended in a tragedy and he committed suicide in 1998.
Raúl Esparza in real life:
Justin Timberlake as Deputy Steve Deffibaugh:
Deputy Steve Deffibaugh is one of the officers who investigates the case and zeros in on Candy being the murderer.
Justin Timberlake in real life:
Jessie Mueller as Sherry Cleckler:
Sherry Clecker is a close friend and confidant of Candy.
Jessie Mueller in real life:
