Jessica Chastain says the make-up she wore to portray televangelist Tammy Faye was so heavy it caused “permanent damage” to her skin.
The actor plays Faye in the forthcoming biopic The Eyes of Tammy Faye, a dramatisation of her life as well as that of her husband Jim Bakker.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Chastain said transforming into Faye required her to spend between four and 7.5 hours getting her make-up done – and that she still has “AirPods that are covered” with product.
“I started to have hot flashes because it’s so heavy and hot. I was afraid,” she said. “It was like going on a long-distance flight every day. Because if it takes 7.5 hours to put on, it’s going to take at least two hours to get off. It was concerning to me. I was worried about my circulation.”
The actor said the role involved “the most prosthetics I’ve worn”, and that Faye’s make-up in the film “gets heavier as she gets older”.
Asked how she kept her skin from breaking out as a result of wearing so much make-up, Chastain told the paper: “I think for sure I’ve done some permanent damage to my skin on this.
“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.”
All in all, though, Chastain said the process was “fine” as it was “for [her] art”.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye, directed by Michael Showalter, also stars Andrew Garfield as Bakker. It’s scheduled for release on 17 September in the US and is expected to come out that same month in the UK, with a specific release date yet to be confirmed.
