Desperate Housewives actress Felicity Huffman is set to make her UK stage debut following her conviction as part of a college admissions scandal.
The Oscar-nominated star said she is “still processing” after serving time in prison for fraud in 2019, but is preparing to star in a revival of the Taylor Mac comedy play titled Hir at London’s Park Theatre.
Huffman will play Paige, the radical and liberated mother of a transgender son, marking one of her first acting roles since the scandal.
Hir is almost here – have a look inside the rehearsal room and find out what to expect from Taylor Mac's strikingly original comedy ✨
➡️ 15 Feb – 16 Mar
🎥 Ben Hewishttps://t.co/2nkTDqLwPf pic.twitter.com/B2OJm34gBU
— Park Theatre (@ParkTheatre) January 31, 2024
“I did a pilot for ABC recently that didn’t get picked up. It’s been hard,” she told the Guardian.
“Sort of like your old life died and you died with it. I’m lucky enough to have a family and love and means, so I had a place to land.”
It comes five years after Huffman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud after paying 15,000 US dollars (£12,000) for an improved exam score to help her daughter secure a place at a US college.
“I did it. It’s black and white,” she said of the conviction.
“I’m grateful to be here…I guess I’m still processing.”
Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actress Huffman said she is not “whitewashing” her conviction, but said some have been “kind and compassionate” towards her, while “others have not”.
The 61-year-old was nominated for an Academy Award in 2006 for playing a trans woman in the drama Transamerica, a role she said she “wouldn’t be able to do now” amid the debate around authentic casting.
“I think we should reflect the audience and that’s got to include everybody. There has been such inequity for so long and now the pendulum must swing the other way.
“But I hope it leads to a situation where anyone can play anything,” she said.
Hir will run at the Park Theatre from February 15 until March 16.