Jamie Lee Curtis has revealed how she defiantly refused to use a prosthetic body to play a downtrodden heroine in her upcoming film All at Once.
In the film, filmed shortly before the coronavirus lockdown swept the country, Jamie Lee plays a stern IRS auditor in a tight and ugly turtleneck that shows off the star’s belly.
The 63-year-old actress, who refused to use a prosthesis for the character’s belly, uploaded a photo of herself in character to Instagram with a candid caption that she released her belly for the role after “pulling in her belly since she was 11.” ‘
Candide: This week, Jamie Lee Curtis provided her first look at her character in All At Once, which allowed her to let her belly out after “sucking my belly since I was 11.”
Jamie Lee is depicted sitting in her cubicle with a clearly indifferent expression and holding a half-eaten cookie.
“Let’s go!” she exclaimed in a caption to her Instagram. “Two years ago we made this movie right up to the day the world closed down. We finished just in time. It’s the Magical Mystery Tour of the movie and I’m so excited to see it premiere tomorrow @sxsw. @everythingeverywheremovie @a24.’
Jamie Lee, whose parents were Some Like It Hot heartthrob Tony Curtis and Psycho star Janet Leigh, wrote: “I’m proud to be able to introduce you to Deirdre Beaverdre.”
She described her character as “an IRS auditor” as well as the “nemesis and girlfriend” of Michelle Yeoh’s protagonist, Evelyn Wang.
Pinup: Jamie Lee, who claims to suck her belly since she was 11, was known in the 80s for her athletic figure (pictured above in the 1985 film Perfect).
“There is an industry in the world — a billion, a trillion — industry of hiding things,” she added. ‘Concealers. Body shapers. Fillers. Procedures. Cloth. Hair accessories. Hair products. All to hide the reality of who we are. And my instruction to everyone was: I want to hide nothing.”
Jamie Lee said: “I’ve been pulling in my stomach since I was 11 when you start to be aware of boys and bodies and jeans are very tight. I deliberately decided to give up and relax every muscle I was tensing in order to hide reality. That was my goal.”
The Halloween star stated, “I’ve never felt freer creatively and physically, I can’t wait for everyone to see Ms. Yeoh’s BRILLIANCE and @kehuyquan @stephaniehsuofficial @martialclubofficial @andyle_official @dunkwun.”
This was recently revealed by one of the film’s directors, Daniel Kwan. Entertainment Weekly that Jamie Lee did not have a prosthetic stomach for the role.
Chic to the max: Jamie Lee is pictured in glamorous fashion at the grand opening of the Academy Film Museum in Los Angeles last year.
“Everyone thinks that her belly in the film is artificial, but in fact it is her real belly. She was grateful that she was allowed to just speak her mind,” he said.
Its co-director Daniel Scheinert also talked about Jamie Lee’s preparation process for the sci-fi comedy.
“Immediately after signing up, she sent us photos of weird outfits and weird hairstyles,” he shared with the magazine.
Bombshell: The actress from the 1985 film Perfect showing off her athletic figure.
“There was one picture of an IRS auditor that Dan Kwan found on the internet – I mean, maybe she worked for the DMV, I don’t know – but in this picture Jamie is like, ‘This is incredible, please let me be her. “Please, please, please, please.” And this photo became the starting point for the hairstyle and outfit.”
A few years ago, in an interview with More magazine, Jamie Lee was candid about how her movie star mother was obsessed with staying slim.
“I think my mother’s most difficult relationship, both loving and often violent, was with her own body,” said Jamie Lee.
Throwback: Jamie Lee “has been sucking in my stomach since I was 11 when you start to be aware of boys and bodies and jeans are super tight”; pictured aged 19 in 1978
Comeback: During an interview with More, Jamie Lee revealed how obsessed her movie star mother Janet Leigh is with staying slim; Janet is featured in the classic 1960 film Psycho.
“Her face was undeniably beautiful, like a shot from something strong, and her body—that body was a stalker. She was drunk.”
Jamie Lee reflected: “Like anyone who is famous for their looks, when this product starts to change, the relationship with it deteriorates.”
She added: “Friends have commented on her slenderness, calling her ‘bird’s feet’, and my mother was incredibly proud that she was back to her 20-inch waist just a few weeks after her pregnancy; she judged other actresses whose bodies grew and softened.”