Jemma Carlton listened to Beyonce to decompress after “the weight of carrying” Maxine Carr.
Jemma Carlton used Beyonce's music to destress after playing
The star of Channel 5's true crime drama 'Maxine' relied on the music of the 40-year-old superstar when it became “really difficult” to play the real-life role of the Soham woman who was convicted of lying about the whereabouts of her fiancee Ian Huntley, the killer of two 10-year-old girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in a case that horrified the nation 20 years ago following a 13-day hunt for their bodies in across Cambridgeshire.
She told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "It helps with the ‘de-robing’ of her. I am such a big Beyoncé fan. It is such a different mood, and it helps massively.
"When we finished filming, I was so tired from carrying the weight of Maxine as a character. When me and Scott [Scott Reid] are in these characters, it’s a really difficult and dark thing.
"So by the end of the day, when we were out of them, we would always listen to some music. I have a playlist when I am in role, and one when I am out."
Jemma described playing the part “a mountain to climb” in the three-parter looking at the investigation into Maxine - who served two years in prison before being given a new secret identity - and her then-lover, who is still behind bars.
She said: "I felt Maxine was a mountain to climb as a part, but wanted to see how I can push myself in a complex real-life role."
"I watched every documentary about Maxine that I could get my hands on, and read as much as I could.
"Understanding how she spoke, how her friends and mother were to her, all of that information helped form my take on how she would react in certain moments."
Meanwhile, she pointed to the way she needed to get the intricate details "right".
She added: ""I’m from the West Midlands, Maxine is from the East Midlands, so getting those details right was so important.
"She moves very differently to me, so getting into the right posture of being more delicate in the way I held myself was key. I also had my hair dyed and wore coloured contact lenses.”
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