Photo: Skip Bolen/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
Renée Zellwegeris opening up about her transformation into Pam Hupp.
In a new crime drama calledThe Thing About Pam, the 52-year-old actress portrays Pam Hupp, a convicted murderer and the central character of the new NBC limited series. For the show, Zellweger wore a body prosthetic to appear more like Hupp — a decision that has been highly criticized online.
At the show’s premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, ZellwegertoldEntertainment Tonightthat the goal “is to be accurate” in depicting Hupp on-screen.
“I think, especially in the case of telling this story, it was really important to as closely resemble Pam Hupp as we possibly could, because she seems so familiar, she seems like someone that we recognize, and we know,” she said.
“In order for you to better understand how possible it might be that people would project onto her who they are sure that she might be or what kind of person she might [be], it just seemed really important that we got as close to that as we could,” the actress added.
Frank Ockenfels 3/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
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Hupp, who is currently serving a life sentencefor the 2016 murder of Louis Gumpenberger, wascharged in July 2021for the 2011 murder of her friend Elizabeth “Betsy” Faria, who made Hupp the beneficiary of a $150,000 life insurance policy in the days prior to her death.
Hupp is also accused of framing Betsy’s husband Russell Faria for the murder.
When Zellweger saw herself in full costume as Hupp for the first time, the actress was admittedly “amazed,” tellingETon Monday, “You might achieve a couple of things, but I had no expectation it was gonna be as remarkable as that.”
Getting in costume was a lengthy process for Zellweger, who said she would sit in her makeup chair for hours as she was prepped. Filming in New Orleans, however, was its own challenge.
The Thing About Pampremieres on Tuesday, March 8 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
source: people.com
