AUSTIN — When Addison Timlin got the call in August that she had landed the role of Hillary Diane Rodham in When I'm a Moth, she was terrified — mainly because the movie would be released during Clinton's administration, or so the 25-year-old actor thought.

But on Nov. 8, Timlin and the rest of the world learned that wouldn't be the case. "I was so, so heartbroken," the actor said of Clinton's loss. "All I could think was, Oh my fucking god. ... I was so sad for her. Playing her and thinking about her and reading about her and listening to her when she was a young woman, she is fucking remarkable. And she is adorable and she is so well-spoken and she is so charming, really. And she's done really incredible things, always — the whole time. I think she's pretty fucking great and I was devastated, especially because I thought she was super fucking capable. I don't think any of us expected what happened to happen — but in that way, it kind of gives the movie another shape."

When I'm a Moth, which began production in October, takes place in 1969 during the gap year Clinton took to work in Alaska before embarking on her law career — but Timlin is quick to add that it's not a traditional biopic. "There are plenty of moments where we're like, 'This didn't happen,'" she said. "It's less about that time in her life and [more] about ... this young woman starting to have the understanding that her life from that point forward will be lived in a very specific way as to not disturb anyone — to become a very well-liked person. I think it was all intentional, but I don't think it was disingenuous. I think a lot of people feel that way about Hillary Clinton, that she's always tried to be liked and that's what people have veered away from. It's interesting, but I think it's something, unfortunately, women all over the world deal with in every way — this tragic need to be liked."