Pam & Tommy stars, Sebastian Stan & Lily James, reveal that they screamed into pillows between scenes to get the vocals right for their characters.
Pam & Tommy star, Sebastian Stan, revealed that he and co-star Lily James screamed into pillows between scenes to hear their characters’ vocals. Pam & Tommy is a biographical miniseries that premiered on Hulu on February 2, 2022. The series tells the true story of actress Pamela Anderson (James) and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee (Stan) as they deal with the scandal of their leak. honeymoon sex tape for the public . In addition to Stan and James, the series also stars Nick Offerman, Taylor Schilling, Seth Rogan and Andrew Dice Clay.
From February 2, the first three episodes of Pam & Tommy were released on Hulu. So far, the reception has been fairly positive, with critics praising the sensitive way the story is handled, as well as the strong performances by Stan and James. Leading up to his debut, Stan and James have been candid about the great effort they have gone into to truly inhabit Anderson and Lee’s characters. Preparation each day included hours in the makeup chair, prosthetic coffins and foreheads, learning the drums, and carrying steel balls. Now the two reveal another technique they used to prepare Pam & Tommy.
In an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Stan revealed that he and James screamed into pillows between scenes to reduce the voices for their respective characters. Both Stan and James repeatedly listened to Anderson and Lee’s voices in interviews. Then, in between scenes, they would scream into pillows to get their voices raspy enough for Anderson and Lee’s vocals. Stan admitted most of the cast and crew probably thought the two were “lose their minds” in their supporters. Check out Stan’s statement below:
We both just listened to their voices repeatedly in their interviews and – I know we both did this – we would scream into pillows between scenes. I tried to make my voice sound hoarse like him, and so did you. So it was like screaming into a pillow too. I think everyone thought we were literally going crazy in our trailers.
Stan’s statement provides more insight into how much has gone into his and James’ transformations for Pam & Tommy. Acting is hard enough on its own, but portraying a real figure has the added pressure of expectation to embody that person’s exact mannerisms, voice, and appearance. In fact James almost quit Pam & Tommy at first, because she struggled with the sheer intensity of the process. Of Pam & Tommy, Stan and James not only portray real figures, but portray them in a true story that is sensitive and delicate to them. The great effort and seriousness that Stan and Lily took to accurately portray Anderson and Lee was especially important in aligning with the show’s desire to broach a difficult subject with respect and sensitivity.
While Stan and Lily took some extreme measures to build character for Pam & Tommy, they are just the most recent in a long list of actors and actresses who have gone to equal lengths to portray a character. Nicole Kidman started smoking for her Lucille Ball role in The Ricardos are to hear Ball’s deep smoking voice. Similarly, Benedict Cumberbatch gave himself nicotine poisoning three times while filming for The power of the dog, due to his character’s frequent smoking. Now Stan and James join the list of actors and actresses who have given up comfort or even health to bring a character to life. While it’s a bit humorous to imagine the two screaming in pillows between scenes, it seems their technique worked when the two completely transformed into Anderson and Lee for Pam & Tommy.
Source: Jimmy Kimmel Live
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