Frances McDormand got so into the role for her new film that she was unrecognisable to many.
The Oscar-winning actor appears in Nomadland as Fern, a woman who rejects conventional society following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada.
Directed by The Rider's Chloé Zhao, the film is being touted as one of the best of 2020 following its Venice Film Festival premiere.
Many are calling Fargo and Three Billboards star McDormand's performance the best of her career.
To fully encapsulate the experience of the film's "van-dwelling" character, McDormand and Zhao travelled as part of a small crew to more than seven states.
"We played the game of ‘what if I was really one of them?'" McDormand said at a press conference.
Zhao added: “It was really about setting up an ecosystem, working with the nomads, because they are not always stationary and getting Fran to blend in."
McDormand revealed that she realised their lanw as working when one day, while shopping in US shop Target, she was "offered employment".
“It was successful because in one town, in Nebraska, I went to the local Target and I was offered employment," she said. "I was offered a form to fill out. I went back to Chloé and said: ‘It’s working!'"
Zhao is currently working on new Marvel film Eternals.
Nomadland will be released in the UK on 1 January 2021.
