Lily Jameswent to extreme measures to make sure her voice was in tip-top shape before filming forMamma Mia! Here We Go Againbegan.
James revealed to PEOPLE, just days before the film hits theaters on Friday, that she’s “struggled” with her voice a lot since leaving drama school. “I lose my voice a lot,” she said. “I have issues — it’s really scary and heartbreaking.”
To prepare for her singing parts in the film, the actress said she “didn’t speak for a week before we recorded.” “I went on steroids and didn’t talk,” she added.
“I watchedMamma Miaover and over again to channel the essence of what makes Donna so unique and brilliant and fearless and courageous,” James continued.
The actress, 29, also said that when watching the film, she tried to “mimic a certain amount of [Streep’s] physicality,” including her hand gestures and “her gravity.”
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“Postcards from the Edgewas useful because she sang,” James explained, adding that Streep’s character was a bit “manic in that film and there is a bit of madness to Donna, a ballsyness and scattiness.”
Praising Streep, James added: “Like all great actors, Meryl is able to be a great comedian and break people’s hearts.”
As an actress who has taken on a broad range of roles herself, James remarked, “I think if you’ve want to keep it interesting then you’ve got to keep it varied as repetition is the death of creativity.”
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James also had great things to say aboutMamma Mia! Here We Go Again‘s message, describing the movie as “a celebration of women, motherhood and sisterhood.”
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Againtakes place back on the Greek island of Kalokairi five years later withAmanda Seyfried’s character running her mother Donna’s inn — with the help of her mom’s former bandmates, Tanya and Rosie (Christine Baranskiand Julie Walters).
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Againin theaters Friday.
source: people.com
