Amanda Knox may be the role a million actresses would kill for, but it’s the role Grace Van Patten got. When a true-crime saga as infamous as Amanda Knox’s gets the scripted treatment, the first question isn’t what story they’ll tell, but who gets to play the part.
Hulu’s The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, produced by Knox herself and Monica Lewinsky, reanimates one of the most dissected trials of the 21st century. Onscreen, we’ve got the wide-eyed exchange student, the performative prosecutor, and the puppy dog-like Italian love interest.
Some choices are uncanny doppelgängers, others lean more vibe than resemblance. Here’s how the actors stack up against their real-life counterparts.
Grace Van Patten as Amanda Knox
Van Patten leans into Knox’s uncanny mix of girl-next-door innocence and tabloid fixation, down to the colored contacts that became shorthand for her American-in-Italy persona.
Giuseppe De Domenico as Raffaele Sollecito
As Knox’s bespectacled boyfriend, De Domenico nails the awkward, bookish vibe—part loyal puppy, part deer in headlights. The mop of curls and soft-spoken energy feel ripped straight from those infamous Perugia photographs.
Sharon Horgan and Joe Lanza as Edda and Chris Mellas
Horgan and Lanza play Amanda’s mother and stepfather as the skeptical yet fiercely protective counterbalance to Amanda's father's calm. Horgan especially imbues Edda with a razor-sharp maternal intuition that cuts through the media frenzy.
John Hoogenakker as Curt Knox
![new york, new york august 19: john hoogenakker attends hulus the twisted tale of amanda knox new york premiere at new york historical society on august 19, 2025 in new york city. (photo by santiago felipe/wireimage)](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/gettyimages-2231056307-68a5f8c24adb8.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.667xh;0,0.0148xh&resize=980:* "Hulu's "The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox" New York Premiere")
Hoogenakker plays Amanda’s steady, pragmatic, Midwestern father, thrust suddenly into the global spotlight.
Anna Van Patten as Deanna Knox
As Amanda’s sister, Anna Van Patten (who is Grace's IRL sister, too) gives us the family member who never asked for a headline but got pulled in anyway.
Francesco Acquaroli and Roberta Mattei as Giuliano Mignini and Monica Napoleoni
Francesco Acquaroli plays the fire-and-brimstone prosecutor on Amanda’s case, bringing theatrical flair to the Italian courtroom. And as the detective who led the charge, Roberta Mattei gives Napoleoni the brisk, cigarette-in-hand confidence of an Italian cop who’s seen it all—and decided Knox was guilty before the first cappuccino.
‘The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox’ is streaming on Hulu.
