--- description: Addison Timlin opens up about what it was like to play Hillary Clinton in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. title: Actor Discusses Playing Young Hillary Clinton in New Biopic image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Biopic Actor on Playing Young Hillary Clinton: 'She’s Not Afraid of Being Intimidating'  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Mar 15, 2017 9:10 PM CUT  by [Megan McCluskey](/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer Mar 15, 2017 9:10 PM CUT Addison Timlin accepted the role of [Hillary Clinton](http://time.com/4684468/hillary-clinton-donald-trump-hate-crimes/ "undefined") in the upcoming _When I’m a Moth_ [biopic](http://time.com/4579636/barry-netflix-barack-obama-devon-terrell/ "undefined") when the winner of the [2016 election](http://time.com/4691594/donald-trump-russia-poll/ "undefined") was yet to be determined. Now, the 25-year-old actress is discussing what it was like to portray a young version of the Democratic nominee after such a contentious race. “I was so, so heartbroken,” Timlin told [Buzzfeed](https://www.buzzfeed.com/jarettwieselman/meet-the-actor-whos-playing-young-hillary-clinton-onscreen?utm%5Fterm=.qxzZ4VeD5#.xc52NAeMJ "undefined") of Clinton’s loss. “I was so sad for her. Playing her and thinking about her and reading about her and listening to her when she was a young woman, she is f—ing remarkable…I don’t think any of us expected what happened to happen — but in that way, it kind of gives the movie another shape.” Set in 1969, during the gap year Clinton spent working in Alaska after graduating from [Wellesley College](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-hillary-clinton-runner-up/ "undefined"), Timlin says _When I’m a Moth_ will explore how the beginning of Clinton’s career shaped her as a politician. --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4702842/hillary-clinton-biopic-actress/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4702842/hillary-clinton-biopic-actress/"},"headline":"Biopic Actor on Playing Young Hillary Clinton: 'She’s Not Afraid of Being Intimidating'","datePublished":"2017-03-15T21:10:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:51:33.811Z","description":"\"She’s not afraid of being intimidating\"","url":"https://time.com/4702842/hillary-clinton-biopic-actress/","keywords":["movies","Hillary Clinton","politics"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4702842/hillary-clinton-biopic-actress/","name":"Biopic Actor on Playing Young Hillary Clinton: 'She’s Not Afraid of Being Intimidating'"}}]}] ```