‘Trust Me, I’m a Doctor’ is a comedy-drama based on the memoir by Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and the scandal surrounding the death of Anna Nicole Smith. Actors Kal Penn (Dr. Sandeep Kapoor), Linda Hamilton (Ellyn Garafalo) and Abbie Cornish (Anna Nicole Smith) star in this film inspired by true events.
In the early 2000s, celebrity culture was exploitive. The line between public adoration and public scrutiny was often thin. Few stories captured that era’s obsession with fame, controversy and excess quite like the life and death of the Texas-born model, Anna Nicole Smith. Smith became Playboy’s Playmate of the Year in 1993 before gaining further recognition as a Guess jeans model. But her celebrity status reached another level in 1994, when she married oil billionaire, J. Howard Marshall II, at age 26. Marshall was 89, and their marriage quickly became a source of public fascination. After his death one year later, in 1995, Smith spent years fighting his family over his estate. The legal battle eventually reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The court’s ruling allowed her to continue to pursue her claims in federal court but it did not guarantee her an inheritance. Smith did not receive money from his estate. However, her net worth was around approximately $4 to $8 million in cash, property and extravagant gifts.
Smith’s personal life continued to make headlines in the years that followed her husband’s passing. She welcomed her first baby boy, Daniel Wayne Smith, in 1986. In September 2006, she gave birth to her daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead, while in the Bahamas, 20 years later. Her world began to unravel shortly after while her name remained in the headlines. A highly publicized dispute over the identity of Dannielynn’s father created further controversy. It was originally thought that her attorney and longtime partner, Howard K. Stern was the father but paternity tests later proved it was her photographer, Larry Birkhead.
Trust Me, I’m a Doctor stars Kal Penn as Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, Anna Nicole Smith’s doctor. Abbie Cornish portrays Smith, while Linda Hamilton plays attorney Ellyn Garafalo (who more recently represented Justin Baldoni in his legal battle with Blake Lively.) The comedy-drama follows the legal battle surrounding Kapoor after Smith’s death in 2007 and the media storm that put his medical career at risk. The film draws from Kapoor’s memoir, Trust Me, I’m a Doctor: My Life Before, During and After Anna Nicole Smith. It explores the intersection of celebrity, medicine and tabloid culture, examining the consequences that extend far beyond the media coverage.
Viewers are quickly immersed in West Hollywood’s indulgent nightlife. From the iconic Pride parade to the legendary gay club, The Abbey, Kapoor and his companions embrace a wild, party lifestyle. But beneath it all, the boundaries between his professional responsibilities and personal relationship with Smith begin to blur. Kapoor repeatedly supplies Smith with methadone as her dependence on prescription drugs becomes increasingly apparent. Known as a sex symbol to her fans, Smith is also portrayed as a commanding presence who knows how to influence and manipulate those around her. One night, she invites Kapoor out, and their relationship takes a more intimate turn when her playful advances lead to a kiss. Drinking, body shots and pounding club music give way to blurry nights marked by reckless abandon, creating a complicated dynamic between doctor and patient.
Courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment
This Pride parade scene is a vivid portrait of a particular celebrity era: when paparazzi culture and tabloids could turn private relationships into public spectacles overnight. While the partying is entertaining to watch, an undercurrent of unease hints at the tragedy to come. Anna Nicole Smith died on Feb. 8, 2007, from an accidental drug overdose. But who, if anyone, was responsible? Kapoor finds himself being blamed for her death which leads to a legal battle that spirals into a media storm.
In the film, the allegations against Kapoor center on the excessive prescribing of powerful drugs, including the opioids methadone and Dilaudid (hydromorphone), and the sedatives Valium (diazepam) and Xanax (alprazolam). All four have legitimate medical uses, but they carry a high risk of dependence and overdose, especially in combination, which gives the story its severity.
Director and writer, Thane Economou, said he wanted to portray Kapoor as a flawed, complex figure rather than simply defend him against the allegations.
“I like to say that Dr. Kapoor is guilty of some things, not the crimes he was accused of, but he was guilty of making mistakes… covering things up,” Economou said.
A tense courtroom battle leaves Kapoor’s career on the line. One moment, he is caught up in Hollywood nightlife; the next, he faces the possibility of losing his medical license. As attorney Ellyn Garafalo (Linda Hamilton) fights to defend him, she must navigate mounting public scrutiny while building a case grounded in facts and evidence.
Hamilton discussed the challenges of portraying an attorney who relies on her legal expertise and facts rather than emotion.
For Linda Hamilton, portraying Garafalo meant mastering the rapid-fire dialogue that fuels the film’s intense courtroom scenes, rather than attempting to mimic the real-life attorney.
“I feel that playing a real woman, and a woman that is still alive, is awkward business at best,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton recalled advice from a journalist early in her career who warned that portraying a real person can be a risky undertaking. She acknowledged the challenges of bringing a living person to the screen but ultimately trusted the script and director Thane Economou’s writing to guide her performance. The result is a compelling portrayal that captures Garafalo’s presence without relying on imitation. With limited rehearsal time, Hamilton arrived to set in Toronto with her lines memorized, allowing her to focus on the rhythm of the dialogue and the relationship developing between herself and Penn.
“I worked the sh*t out of it,” Hamilton said. “I arrived in Toronto off book.”
“It was all very much on the page. It was so specific and so well written. Because there were so many huge, long scenes, I wanted to keep things intact. I worked the sh*t out of it. I arrived in Toronto off book. I memorized it all, because it was so daunting,” Hamilton said. “I knew I had to have it all here because it was so much, and make room for me and Kal to have our relationship through the dialogue.”
Drawing on Kapoor’s memoir, Hamilton had many conversations with the real Sandeep Kapoor to better understand Garafalo’s character. During one conversation, Kapoor told her the attorney was “always about her hair,” prompting a laugh from the actress.
“Her hair has to be perfect. I figured, okay, that’s something I can work with,” Hamilton recalled.
Beyond attention to details like Garafalo’s signature hairstyle, the film delves into the legal strategy behind Kapoor’s defense. Although Kapoor had prescribed Smith medication, Garafalo emphasized that he had not been her physician for more than six months before her death. She used that gap to challenge the allegations against him, arguing that he could not be held responsible for what happened while he was no longer treating her.
Kal Penn, who portrays the controversial physician, said he was particularly interested in exploring Kapoor’s psychological complexities. He was especially drawn to the intoxicating effect of suddenly being thrust into Anna Nicole Smith’s celebrity orbit.
“Suddenly he’s there with Anna, and all of these people want to talk to him. Of course, they were there because of my (his) proximity to Anna Nicole Smith, but.. what that feels like for a night, when you’ve already been drinking throughout the day, and you’re on this high of ‘wow, I feel invincible and anything is possible,’ is a crazy psychological thing that I was very, very interested in getting to the bottom of and playing a guy like this,” Penn said.
Along with the the courtroom allegations, Trust Me, I’m a Doctor examines how tabloid culture shaped the public’s perception of Smith. Her personal struggles often became fodder for late-night jokes and entertainment headlines. Economou said the media’s treatment of Smith takes on a different meaning in retrospect.
“With time, we’ve seen truly how heartbreaking the end of Anna Nicole Smith’s life was, but at the time, she was free game on TMZ, all the way up to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Everyone was cracking jokes at Anna’s expense,” Economou said.
“Everyone was cracking jokes at Anna’s expense,” Economou said.
Smith’s experience also reflects a broader media culture in which women, particularly those known for their sexuality, were often reduced to punchlines. The film sheds light on the cost of turning private pain into public entertainment.
Having built her career in television and film since the 1980s, Linda Hamilton (Garafalo) has witnessed the evolution of celebrity culture firsthand. She reflected on how the rise of social media has transformed the way celebrities are portrayed and perceived by the public.
“I do believe I’ve lived through one of the most interesting periods in Hollywood history, in terms of how much has changed. And then there’s social media, where I’m just like, ‘I’m out.’ I don’t do any social media. It’s great because I’m almost finished,” joked Hamilton.”The world has opened up so much, and technology has opened up so much. The film industry and streaming have made this an amazing time. I was an ’80s television actress, and I can’t believe I’m still here.”
“I’ve lived through one of the most interesting periods in Hollywood history… I was an ’80s television actress, and I can’t believe I’m still here,” said Hamilton.
Through its blend of comedy and tragedy, Trust Me, I’m a Doctor examines the darker side of celebrity culture, where a woman’s personal struggles became public entertainment and the cost of fame was often overshadowed by the next headline.
Available to watch in select theaters Oct. 16.
