The King of Staten Island has been described as a “semi-biographical” film about Pete Davidson’s life, so while some characters are inspired by real people, others are completely fictionalized, which brings us to this question: Is Kelsey in The King of Staten Island based on Pete Davidson’s real girlfriend? The answer is complicated.
The King of Staten Island, which premiered on Friday, June 12, follows Scott, a 20something who lives with his younger sister and mom in Staten Island, New York. Throughout the movie, Scott deals with the grief of his father, a firefighter who died when he was 7 years old. The storyline is inspired by Davidson’s own relationship with his dad, a New York City firefighter who died in the September 11 attacks. Kelsey (played by Bel Powley) is one of Scott’s friends, who hooks up with from time to time.
Throughout the film, Scott and Kelsey, who’ve known each other since the fourth grade, have a friends-with-benefit relationship, but it’s clear from the beginning that she wants more. When Kelsey tells Scott that she wants to be more than a secret hookup to him, Scott responds by explaining that he thought their relationship was casual. Kelsey goes on to criticize Scott for using her (such as when he went to her house for “shelter” after a fight with his mom and her boyfriend) and hurting those around him.
So is Kelsey based on a real girlfriend of Davidson’s? In an interview with British Vogue, Powley, who played Kelsey, confirmed that the character is inspired by a real-life ex of Davidson’s, just not one. “Kelsey isn’t based on one particular person. It’s more of an amalgamation of Pete’s exes. I’m not saying he has loads [laughs]. I don’t know!” she said.
But Davidson’s ex-girlfriends weren’t the only ones that Powley took inspiration from for Kelsey. She also explained to British Vogue that she watched MTV’s Made in Staten Island to practice her Staten Island accent and mannerisms for the film. Powley apparently liked her Staten Island look so much that she wanted to accentuate it even more.
“I wanted to take it even further! I wanted to have these really long extensions and there was a point when Judd had to say no to stop it from becoming a caricature [laughs],” she said. “I had so much fun! I watched lots of episodes of [MTV reality show] Made in Staten Island and based a lot of the look on this character who is the daughter of a Staten Island mobster. She had the nails, the tan and the long hair. We shot in summer, so wearing that much makeup was hard because it would be melting off my face. But I loved the way it looked in the end.”