‘A Friend of the Family’: Mckenna Grace on Capturing ‘Complicated’ Relationship Between Jan and B (Exclusive)

Mckenna Grace was intentional when it came to how she portrayed the “complicated” dynamic between Jan Broberg and Robert “B” Berchtold, she revealed in an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com. The 16-year-old actress portrays Broberg in her teenage years on the A Friend of the Family, Peacock’s dramatic retelling of Broberg’s traumatic real-life story in which she was kidnapped twice by Berchtold: once at age 12 and once at age 14. 

Berchtold (Jake Lacy) groomed and sexually abused Broberg between 1972 and 1976, convincing the young girl that she had to have a child with him to protect her family from aliens. Meanwhile, B maintained access to the little girl while manipulating her family members, including her father Robert (Colin Hanks) and her mother Mary Ann (Anna Paquin). 

“It’s frightening,” Grace told PopCulture of taking on Broberg’s role in such a disturbing true story. “I just sit and I really do my best to try and put myself in what she was thinking. There’s always so much of a conversation to be had with the other actors in the scene and with the director before every single scene because there is so much happening in her life.”

“And it is such a complicated relationship that she has with B, not only just with B, but with her family after everything that has happened,” Grace continued. “Everything in her life is just so complex. So there’s so much to figure out before every scene and during every scene. So it was a lot, but it was such an amazing process to be a part of.”

Working with the real-life Broberg, who served as a producer on A Friend of the Family, helped Grace find a whole new level of performance. “I read her old diary entries, and I read all of the letters between her and B,” Grace said of Broberg’s involvement in her character work. “And I would read, and I would talk to her and ask her all sorts of questions because I really wanted to make sure that I knew everything that I could.”

Having Broberg involved in the production was “so important” to Grace. “It was the first question I had – ‘How involved is Jan in all of this? Are her and her family OK with this show?’” she shared with PopCulture. “It was so important to me to have a connection, to be able to talk to Jan. And fortunately, she was so open with me and so honest, and that meant the world to be able to message her, call her and ask her questions, and have her guidance because I really wanted to make sure that I was doing her right.” A Friend of the Family airs Thursdays on Peacock.