Diane Neal has built a career out of being on the right side of justice with her roles on Law & Order: SVU and NCIS, and her enigmatic and outspoken personality is just as entrancing off screen as it is on screen. Even though she's seemingly as assured as her characters, the actor was still emotional talking about the real-life evils she's encountered. As the Daily Beast reported in 2019, one of her relationships ended in allegations of fraud, abuse, and stalking against her ex-boyfriend.
While describing director Ashley Williams' depiction of Peggy Sue Thomas — who viewers slowly recognize to be a villain through small moments throughout the film — Neal spoke with an air of wisdom and heaviness. "Real evil tends to be subtle, and slow, and deceptive and misdirected," she said. "It's so hard because when I was [reading Practice to Deceive], it was just staggering to me what motivation they found acceptable to carry out these things." Neal added, "The crazy part is the world is full of them."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 or TTY 1−800−787−3224. You can also find more information, resources, and support at .
