Andra Day was ready to go to great lengths for their portrayal of Billie Holiday.
The rising star, who had great success with her single “Rise Up” from 2015, was won over for the legendary jazz singer in the upcoming biopic “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”.
In her interview with W Magazine, published on February 23, the 36-year-old singer revealed what she went through to physically transform into the late legend.
“I did some pretty extreme things for the character,” she admitted. “There was the drastic weight loss – I wanted a body that looked like it did back then. Starving me made me very weak on set and slowed me down in a way that really helped with the heroin scenes. Then I started smoking I felt like Billie. I’m very fast and she’s like molasses. Smoking has helped me get into these dark places. “
She also went into weight loss, noting, “I was originally 163 when I started. I’ve dropped to 124. I don’t necessarily recommend, but I didn’t want my body to look like a 2020 fitness body or 2019 too the time. It was important for me to have a period body. “
