Andrew Rannells revealed that his short romance with Anderson Cooper served as inspiration for his character’s story line on Girls.
“I told [creators] Lena [Dunham] and Jenni Konner a story about when I was 25 that I had dated Anderson Cooper,” the Miss You, Love You actor, 47, said during a recent appearance on The Daily Beast’s “Obsessed” podcast. “And I told them about the experience and what that was like.”
Rannells played Elijah on the hit HBO series from 2012 to 2019. Elijah was the college ex-boyfriend of Hannah (Dunham), who later came out as gay and befriended his ex-girlfriend.
The Broadway star shared that his story about his time with Cooper, 59, inspired a story line for his character.
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“It was a very brief relationship but when I told them that, they were like, ‘Oh, that’s a fun story,’” he recalled.
During Girls season 5, Elijah meets an older news anchor named Dill (Corey Stoll) while at a bar. Elijah and Dill hit it off and begin a romance. However, Dill eventually breaks up with Elijah due to their age difference.
Us Weekly has reached out to Cooper’s spokesperson for comment.
This was the first time Rannells had confirmed his romance with Cooper. When Girls season 5 first aired in 2016, fans speculated about whether a famous newscaster was the inspiration for Dill. Cooper, who is a fan of the show, reacted to the fans’ theories that Dill was based on him.
“I’m obsessed with Girls, but I’m a few episodes behind. I just met Lena Dunham at Sundance and she didn’t mention anything to me, but I’d be flattered,“ the CNN broadcaster told the New York Post in 2016. “Wait — is that the guy Andrew Rannells’ [character] is dating? I thought he was more of a [Bill] O’Reilly character. I’m a friend of Andrew’s. I should ask him.”
Rannells, for his part, played coy about the fans’ comparisons between Cooper and Dill.
“I think the general idea that he’s this powerful, you know, adult, is what’s important,” the Tony nominee said in an interview with Elle at the time.
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Stoll also shared that his performance as Dill was all his doing and didn’t take any inspiration from a public figure.
“I was playing Dill Harcourt. I did not base this character on anybody,” he told Queerty.
While things didn’t work out with Cooper, Rannells did find love with Tuc Watkins. The couple met in 2019, one year before they shared the stage in the Broadway production of The Boys in the Band.
Cooper, for his part, dated ex Benjamin Maisani from 2014 to 2019. The pair share two sons.
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