Jamie Lee Curtis is taking on a unique and exciting role in the upcoming film Everything Everywhere All at Once. The movie, premiering at SXSW this weekend, is getting a theatrical release later this month, where fans will get to see a new side of Curtis.
Her character, Deirdre Beaubeirdra, is an IRS inspector and Curtis had a specific idea in mind for bringing her to life. In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Curtis shares that she wanted to break the Hollywood mold. She wanted to be authentic. An image of an IRS auditor found by director Daniel Kwan hit the mark perfectly for her.
“In the world, there is an industry — a billion-dollar, trillion-dollar industry — about hiding things. Concealers. Body-shapers. Fillers. Procedures. Clothing. Hair accessories. Hair products. Everything to conceal the reality of who we are. And my instruction to everybody was: I want there to be no concealing of anything.”
Curtis continued by hitting on a point familiar to Hollywood and people worldwide every day. We’ve all felt like we’re not enough in our bodies, and most of us have done anything possible to change pieces of ourselves.
“I’ve been sucking my stomach in since I was 11, when you start being conscious of boys and bodies, and the jeans are super tight. I very specifically decided to relinquish and release every muscle I had that I used to clench to hide the reality. That was my goal.”
Relaxing her muscles and the years of concealing was likely a treat for Curtis, who — let’s be honest — looks as stunning in her natural state as she does all made up. While Everything Everywhere All at Once is sure to take us on an adventure, may it inspire us to stop hiding our realities, too.