Lily James Says She 'Hated' Taking Off Her Pamela Anderson Costume After Filming 'Pam & Tommy'

Lily James is opening up about her transformation into Pamela Anderson for Pam & Tommy.

In an interview Net-a-Porter’s digital title Porter published on Monday (January 10), the actress described her time playing the Baywatch star in the new show as “really thrilling.”

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“I’ve never done anything where I look very different from myself before,” she explained. “And I’d really like to continue in this vein, because I felt there was something very freeing and liberating in it. There was a bravery that came from that.”

Lily stars in the Hulu show alongside Sebastian Stan, who plays Tommy Lee. The series centers on the real-life couple’s sex tape, which was stolen and shared to the internet by a disgruntled contractor (Seth Rogen) in 1997.

The process of turning into Pamela took about four hours in the makeup chair and involved her getting a fake tan, a wig and a prosthetic body suit. Lily said she was amazed by the results, telling the outlet: “Slowly, our incredible team found a balance where I resembled Pamela but also felt like I could act through it.”

While some actors struggle with their heavy makeup or prosthetics, the actress revealed that she was often sad to take off the costume once filming had wrapped.

“I hated it,” she shared. “It was like being stripped of all these superpowers! I’d really enjoyed the physicality and the sensuality, even down to the long fingernails.”

Lily went on to say she’d “never worked so hard” to prepare for a film. “My sole intention was to take care of the story and to play Pamela authentically,” she noted.

The one thing that she expressed disappointment about was not being able to speak to Pamela, who she had reached out to before production began.

“I was really hopeful that she would be involved,” Lily said. “I wish it had been different.”

Pam & Tommy is set to premiere with the first three episodes on Wednesday, Feb. 2, with new episodes streaming weekly on Hulu. Check out the first trailer here!