‘George & Tammy’: Jessica Chastain ‘Stopped Eating’ Until She ‘Looked Sick’ to Star in the Paramount Miniseries
Paramount’s new TV miniseries George & Tammy tells the story of George Jones and Tammy Wynette, the country singers’ relationship at the center of the story.
Fans certainly have plenty of drama to look forward to. For Jessica Chastain, George & Tammy provided a specific challenge as she physically transformed herself for the role.
‘George & Tammy’ was supposed to be a movie
According to Vanity Fair, George & Tammy was originally supposed to be a movie. That’s how creator Abe Sylvia first saw the story being told, and that’s what Chastain signed onto back in 2011. Over the years, the project, which stars Chastain as Wynette and Michael Shannon as George Jones, shifted into a miniseries format.
Chastain notably won an Academy Award for playing another famous Tammy, Tammy Faye Bakker, in the 2021 film The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
The 45-year-old has been an instrumental creative force for George & Tammy, serving as a producer in addition to her starring role. Chastain ultimately recruited Shannon, with whom she co-starred in 2011’s Take Shelter.
Jessica Chastain went to extremes to prepare for her role
Naturally, Chastain had to overcome her fear of singing live in front of a theater full of extras. She told Vanity Fair the experience was “the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
But she took her commitment much further, losing a ton of weight to play Wynette as she was in her final years. By that point, the singer, often called “The First Lady of Country Music,” had multiple health problems as well as an addiction to painkillers.
“I don’t really like to look at scales, but I stopped eating,” Chastain told Vanity Fair. “I was drinking juices, and I kept doing it until I looked sick.”
Her dedication to physically transforming into the “Stand By Your Man” singer follows similar tactics. Christian Bale, in particular, is known to lose or gain weight for a role. But George & Tammy might be the boldest preparation Chastain has yet done for a role.
‘George & Tammy’ premieres on Showtime on Dec. 4, 2022
In addition to several notable TV guest appearances, Chastain is no stranger to TV miniseries either. She previously starred in the 2006 miniseries Blackbeard. And in 2021, she starred opposite Oscar Isaac in Scenes from a Marriage. So George & Tammy builds off of those successes.
The miniseries premieres on Showtime on December 4, 2022. It will reportedly feature six episodes, all of which were directed by John Hillcoat.
“I was really moved by the love story between them. I started to listen to the music and understood that they were always singing to each other,” Chastain told Vanity Fair of Wynette and Jones. “They were both a huge part of each other’s lives.”
