NEWSMichelle Williams Channels Marilyn Monroe on New 'Vogue' Cover
Sept. 13 2011, Published 8:25 a.m. ET
Michelle Williams is proving she has what it takes to play Marilyn Monroe by striking a stunning pose on the new cover of Vogue. The 31-year-old actress is opening up about the challenges she faced taking on the iconic figure for her upcoming film, My Week With Marilyn.
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"I'd go to bed every night with a stack of books next to me," Michelle reveals in the new issue of Vogue. "And I'd fall asleep to movies of her. It was like when you were a kid and you'd put a book under your pillow hoping you'd get it by osmosis."
But no matter how much studying she did, Michelle may still have a different take on Marilyn than others would.
“Everybody has their own idea of who Marilyn was and what she means to them,” she explains. “But I think that if you go a little bit deeper, you’re going to be surprised by what you find there.”
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Michelle did, however, transform herself for the role so she could look like Marilyn.
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Still, the normally modest Williams felt a certain transformation in her appearance and power in the role.
When trying to gain weight to match Marilyn's curves, Michelle realized that, “Unfortunately, it went right to my face."
So the actress opted for foam padding on her hips, which helped her perfect Marilyn's walk.
"But I do remember one moment of being all suited up as Marilyn and walking from my dressing room onto the soundstage practicing my wiggle," she recalls. "There were three or four men gathered around a truck, and I remember seeing that they were watching me come and feeling that they were watching me g o— and for the very first time I glimpsed some idea of the pleasure I could take in that kind of attention; not their pleasure but my pleasure. And I thought, Oh, maybe Marilyn felt that when she walked down the beach."
