Jessica Chastain‘s latest makeover for the upcoming biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye may have caused her permanent skin damage.
In her role as televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker, Jessica had to undergo a major makeover that is skin deep.
In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, the 44-year-old spoke on how turning into Tammy affected her physically and mentally.
“I think for sure I’ve done some permanent damage to my skin on this,” she shared to the outlet regarding her skin. “Listen, I eat very pure and I take very good care of my skin and I stay out of the sun and all that stuff. But it’s heavy. And when you’re wearing it all day every day — the weight of it on your body, it stretches your skin out.”
Chastain added, “I finally took it off and I was like, ‘I look 50 years old!’ [Laughs.] No, I’m kidding. But it’s fine. It’s for my art.” At first, the artist said she was “freaked out” over the heavy makeup.
“The very first test I did was difficult, honestly. I mean, we fixed it. But I was freaked out. I was like, ‘I don’t know how to act like this,'” she shared. “People think it’s easier, but it’s not. You have to reach through the makeup — you can’t let the makeup be the performance.”
Chastain shared that Tammy was “so emotional” in real life and she was worried it wouldn’t translate on-screen with her pounds of makeup covering up her skin.
She shared how it would take eight hours each day for the film’s makeup team to complete her skin-deep makeover.
“I got to set and I was so panicky,” she recalled after sitting in the makeup chair for so long. “I started to have hot flashes because it’s so heavy and hot. I was afraid. It was like going on a long-distance flight every day. Because if it takes 7 and a half hours to put on, it’s going to take at least two hours to get off. It was concerning to me.”
Jessica added, “I was worried about my circulation. By the time I got on set that first day that was 7 and a half hours, I was like, ‘I have no energy left.’ And she’s supposed to show up with so much energy.”
Chastain sat in the makeup chair for a total of four hours.
It took Jessica a total of four hours to transform into Tammy Faye.
She said, “I have a dimple in my chin that she didn’t have, so we would seal that up. Her face was more round than mine, so I would have things on my cheeks.”
The show is set to release on September 17, 2021.
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