Reflecting on his past relationships, comedy actor Andrew Rannells reveals his brief romance with CNN’s Anderson Cooper inspired a storyline in HBO’s Girls.
Videos by Suggest
While appearing on the Daily Beast’s Obsessed: The Podcast, Rannells said his Girls character Elijah’s romance with TV host Dill Harcourt, played by Corey Stoll, was based on his relationship with Cooper.
“I told Lena [Dunham] and [co-creator] Jenni Konner a story about when I was 25 that I had dated Anderson Cooper,” he explained. “And I told them about the experience and what that was like.”
He further shared, “Then it became the story that Elijah had in the series. That’s what I thought you were gonna ask about.”
Rannells also confirmed that he and Cooper had a “very brief” relationship. But when I told them that, they were like, ‘Oh, that’s a fun story.'”
There were rumors in the past that Cooper and Rannells had dated. However, neither Cooper nor Rannells has confirmed whether the gossip is true until now.
Elijah’s romance with the TV host played out during the show’s season 5.
During an interview with Queerty, Stoll was asked if his character was based on Cooper, and he answered, “I don’t know. I was playing Dill Harcourt. I did not base this character on anybody.”
Rannells Did Address Theories that the Character Was Based on Cooper
During an interview with Elle, Rannells spoke about Dill and appeared to address whether the character was based on Cooper.
However, Rannells said the character was simply a figurehead.
“I think the general idea that he’s this powerful, you know, adult, is what’s important,” he said at the time. “For my money, his job could have been any number of things. It just represents that he’s very much from the outside of these characters’ world.”
Rannells pointed out, “We were in this very grown-up situation. That’s what Dill represents.”
Meanwhile, Cooper, who was a big Girls fan, thought the character was based on Bill O’Reilly.
“I just met Lena Dunham at Sundance, and she didn’t mention anything to me, but I’d be flattered,” he said in 2016, when asked by the New York Post about the character. “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.”