Elizabeth Banks didn’t know new thriller ‘Skincare’ is inspired by true story (exclusive)

Elizabeth Banks didn’t realize that her bonkers new film Skincare, while a work of fiction, was actually inspired by a true story until “way later into the process” of making it.

“I didn’t know it at all. I had never heard about it. I was just all in on Hope Goldman and this character and the sort of milieu of LA,” she tells Entertainment Weekly.

When she read the script, which is loosely based on celebrity facialist Dawn DaLuise, who was accused of a murder-for-hire plot against a rival aesthetician, Banks says another real-life reference popped into her mind: a facialist she’d used in the past named Matty.

“She was very much this Hope Goldman character in my mind, in that she had her own little place on 3rd Street in LA, and she was recommended to me by an agent — Johnny Depp’s agent — who said, ‘Well, Johnny went to Matty,’ and listed other clients who had gone to Matty,” she recalls. “So when I read the script, that’s what I was thinking. I was like, I’m going to base it on Matty.”

The film follows fictional, famed aesthetician Hope, who is gearing up to launch her own skincare line when a rival facialist, Angel Vergara (Luis Gerardo Méndez), opens a new boutique directly across from her store. After a series of increasingly disturbing events, Hope begins to suspect that someone is trying to sabotage her reputation and business. Together with her new friend, Jordan (Lewis Pullman), she embarks on a dangerous and wild mission to find out who is trying to destroy her life and career.

Banks describes Pullman’s character as “a bit of a Lothario” and an interesting foil to Hope. “He’s one of those sorts of young men who take advantage of older women, and I find that in L.A., those people exist. They’re kind of all creeping around in Hollywood,” she says with a laugh.

Director Austin Peters, who wrote the film’s screenplay with Sam Freilich and Deering Regan, grew up in Los Angeles, and says he was “intrigued by what makes it tick.” “Specifically, I had been thinking a lot about image — about how image drives success and is often valued more than success itself,” he tells EW. “These themes of authenticity, beauty, and superficiality playing out in this very real and often very gritty environment really excited me. I love the noir genre and the idea of doing this ‘Sunshine Noir’ in the place I grew up in, set in the world of beauty, sparked the creation of this film.”

Peters says he hopes the audience has a good time with the film, touting that it’s “meant to be a fun ride” with “a stellar ensemble cast.” To that end, the film also features Michaela Jaé Rodriguez as Hope’s righthand woman and PR manager, and Nathan Fillion as a sleazy news anchor. On the surface, all of these players seem very different than Hope, but they all have one very important thing in common: “You are not sure what all the characters are capable of. What you know is you haven’t seen everything,” Banks teases.

She continues, “And so people present themselves as one way, but you get to see this sort of underbelly of everyone as well. I think that creates a ton of tension because you’re waiting for something to explode. You’re waiting for violence to happen because you start to realize that these characters will do anything for their success, and you’re just wondering how far it’s going to go. And that’s what I liked about this film.”

Banks says she had “an amazing experience” making the movie and tapping into a character who is “unraveling as a human being.” On a personal level, she also enjoyed learning how to do facials from several experts, including her current skincare guru Camille Fields. She now has a very special customer — her son, Magnus.

“He’ll come to me, and probably, I would say once a month, just be like, ‘Mommy, can I have a facial tonight before bed?’ And it becomes our bedtime routine, and I’m really loving having that experience with him,” she says, adding with a laugh, “For sure, giving facials to my kid is the number one thing I’m taking away from the film.”

Banks also has some thoughts about what audiences might take away from the psychological thriller. “It really is about: what are you willing to do to get what you want? She says it in the movie, and I think that’s really interesting, ‘Who are you willing to step on? What sacrifices are you willing to make? Whose life are you willing to threaten?'”

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Skincare hits theaters Aug. 16.