M6 is broadcasting the first episodes of “The Thing About Pam” this evening, a mini-series adapted from a news item in which Renée Zellweger plays the main role. To play Pam Hupp, she had to undergo a radical physical transformation.
Great accustomed to physical transformations for the needs of a role, as she has already done for Judy or Bridget Jones, Renée Zellweger is once again unrecognizable in the mini series The Thing About Pam, whose first three episodes are broadcast this Saturday, September 9 from 9:10 p.m. on M6.
In this fiction adapted from a sordid news story, the Oscar-winning actress plays Pam Hupp, a woman in her sixties, a former life insurance manager, who was found guilty in 2021 of the murder of her friend Betsy Faria, that she had first tried to blame on the latter’s husband, Russ Faria.
And to slip into the skin of this manipulative and common gold character, the actress, who had subjected herself to a “fattening diet” for the Bridget Jones saga, this time decided to opt for a “fat suit” (a magnifying costume) and facial prosthetics in order to look as much like Pam Hupp as possible.
A choice that did not fail to cause controversy when the first images of The Thing About Pam were released. In recent years, the use of “fat suit” has become increasingly controversial, with many indeed accusing Hollywood of grossophobia. Why hire a thin actor to play an overweight character when there is a plethora of talent who would not have to wear prosthetics?
If Renée Zellweger never really expressed herself on this controversy, she insisted on explaining in an interview granted to the Sunday Times that the teams sought to be “respectful and responsible. There’s always a limit to what you can do to establish a genuine likeness without being disruptive.”.
A spectacular transformation
To look like Pam Hupp, Renée Zellweger had to endure many hours of makeup every day. “Arian, who built the prostheses, created them by hand and painted them down to the last freckle. Its precision is remarkable. It’s part of the adventure, it’s really cool to see the transformation happen every day”, had confided the actress to Entertainment Tonight.
For the production, it was necessary to be as precise as possible so that Renée Zellweger was as unrecognizable as possible. “For this story, I think the most important thing was to look as much like Pam Hupp as possible, because she seems very familiar to us. She looks like someone we know. […] It was important that we get as close as possible to his appearance,” she explained to our colleagues.
Find the first three episodes of The Thing About Pam this Saturday, September 9 from 9:10 p.m. on M6.