Andra Day lost nearly 40 pounds to step into Billie Holiday character for Hulu biopic

Andra Day is already making the buzz for her next feature film in the United States against Billie Holiday.

And the two-time Grammy nominee went to great lengths to make her first top performance a great one.

She lost nearly 40 pounds to step into the character of Billie Holiday for the Hulu biopic directed by Lee Daniels, detailing her process to Leslie Odom Jr during Variety’s Actors on Actors.

The 36-year-old said: ‘I basically abused my body for a long time. I’m kidding and I’m not really kidding. I got the role at the very top of 2018. Read everything I could get my hands on. Listen to each interview.

“Apparently I have exhausted the Internet of photos of Billie Holiday. Apparently the internet will tell you that you have reached the end.

She added, “I did it to my family; I put myself through. I went from 163 pounds to 124 pounds. I spoke like her and I don’t drink or smoke, but I did start to smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol.

“It’s not that I recommend people to do this; I was just desperate because this is my first role. I just asked God to give me all the pain and trauma. I asked him to make me suffer and hurt me.

Day also spoke about why it was important for her to change her voice in order to sing as an iconic jazz singer.

She said: ‘It was an early decision that we made right away to sing. Every time I sang a song I would go, OK Lee is going to hear it and he’s going to fire me. But I wouldn’t have done it if they had been “Do it with your voice”.

“That probably would have been a no to me. There is victory and there is pain in his voice. So to me it was like we have to get it, we have to get it, you know what I mean? That’s got to be my interpretation of it, but it’s got to be there.

Artist Cheers to the Fall delivers a haunting performance as she stars as Holiday in the first trailer for The United States vs. Billie Holiday, which premiered earlier this month.

She plays the role of the titular music and civil rights icon in the untold story of her 1939 song, Strange Fruit, which protested the lynching of black Americans, making her an FBI target.

Day stars alongside Trevante Rhodes, Garrett Hedlund and Natasha Lyonne in the film, which will be released on February 26 on the streaming platform.

While the long-awaited story is tragic to watch, Day’s performance is sure to captivate audiences and honor Billie Holiday like few can.

Day recently joined director Lee Daniels for her cover interview with V Magazine, in which she revealed why she took on the role: “ The truth of it all mattered to me. Because, as Lee knows, and we’ve laughed at it a few times – at first I was terrified. I was hesitant and thought to myself, “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

She also credited Diana Ross’ performance as Billie in the 1972 biopic: “ Also, I loved Lady Sings the Blues. I love Diana’s performance. So that was part of the reason I didn’t want to do this. She killed the role. It’s beautiful what she did.

“ But Lee, I remember we sat down and had dinner at Soho House, and the first thing I really liked was actually your energy. We bonded over good things and bad. It is your character and your need for authenticity that I really appreciated.

Meanwhile, Daniels admitted that he didn’t initially want her for the role: “My managers, the people who work with me, they were like,”[Andra] is who you should hire. “And I was like, ‘Fuck everyone. “I was like, ‘Poor girl, she doesn’t stand a chance. ”

“ But then we met and when I first looked at her I saw her spirit. I have chills. She wasn’t a desperate actress who just wanted to do it. I could tell she was wondering if she was good enough. For me, that’s when you know you’re really dealing with a perfectionist. She wanted to do the role justice. This is everything you are looking for as a director.

Catch Andra Day in the United States against Billie Holiday, which premieres February 26 on Hulu.