Patricia Arquette Reflects on How Her Dad's Alcoholism Helped Her Relate to Maggie in “Murdaugh: Murder in the Family” (Exclusive)

Patricia Arquette's latest domiciled deed adjacent to home.

The character plays Maggie Murdaugh successful Hulu's caller constricted series, Murdaugh: Death successful nan Family, which is based connected nan shockingly existent communicative of a South Carolina family and its patriarch, Alex Murdaugh, who was convicted of sidesplitting his woman Maggie and their boy Paul.

During Alex's trial, he admitted to having a lifelong addiction to opioids — his lawyer claimed his customer spent $50,000 a week connected drugs — and his son, Buster, said that the family was alert of Alex's addiction arsenic well. Another declare made by Alex during nan proceedings was that he took much than 2,000 milligrams of painkillers a day successful nan months starring up to Maggie and Paul's 2021 deaths.

To play Maggie, who was joined to Alex for years earlier her death, Arquette tells PEOPLE really her ain puerility experiences witnessing nan devastating effects of addiction informed her portrayal.

"I grew up successful a family wherever location were constituent maltreatment issues pinch my dada and alcoholism and betrayals," she says. "And my dada was charming, and I loved my dad."

Given her father's struggles — she's nan youngest girl of character Lewis Arquette and Brenda Denaut, who shared 5 kids — Patricia says she "definitely sewage modeled" behaviour that parallels that of nan Murdaugh patriarch, who was secretive astir his demons passim his life.

Patricia, 57, besides "saw really difficult [her dad's addiction] was for my mom" to woody with, which besides informed really she interpreted Maggie's story.

As she prepared to return connected nan domiciled — alongside Jason Clarke arsenic Alex — Patricia says she "looked astatine alcoholism" and really it influences everyone astir it.

"There's benignant of normal patterns successful a dysfunctional family, moreover conscionable pinch alcoholism aliases addiction," she says.

In nan lawsuit of nan Murdaugh family, some Alex and his woman were doing things they were not expected to beryllium doing successful bid to facilitate Alex's recovery. "There's a logic they opportunity these things are a family disease, because everything gets distorted. And erstwhile you person lies and pathological manipulation and each of this benignant of worldly — and betrayal — it's conscionable furniture aft furniture of things that are hidden, and he's hiding truthful galore things."

Patricia adds of really she understands Maggie, "I really wanted to grant her arsenic a mother of this family, who'd been pinch [Alex] since assemblage and sewage very normalized to his crazy behaviour ... and his family's entree and capacity and privilege to beryllium capable to get distant pinch everything, and really that could steamroll and steamroll."

"They were dealing pinch truthful galore different things — addictions and intoxicant and narcotics and each of these different things, betrayals," she says of nan family.

"What was really absorbing to maine astir this communicative was this charming, charismatic characteristic who is nan caput of nan family, but besides a pathological liar, betrayer, manipulator. And for this woman, for her to commencement realizing, 'I person nary hint who I'm joined to' — wherever does it end? All of these layers of layers of deception and gaslighting and manipulation and who are you?"

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New episodes of Murdaugh: Death successful nan Family driblet Wednesdays connected Hulu.