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Jessica Chastain is going country for her new limited series “George & Tammy.”
“Extra’s” Katie Krause spoke with Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon, who are portraying Tammy Wynette and George Jones in the show, which is based on the best-selling book “The Three of Us: Growing up with Tammy and George,” by the couple’s daughter Georgette Jones.
The series centers on George and Tammy’s complicated six-year marriage.
The project has been in the making for years! In 2011, Jessica was first asked to play the role of Tammy by Josh Brolin, who is an EP on “George & Tammy.”
Jessica then asked Michael to come on board and play George. She noted, “We were on set cursing. I was cursing Josh Brolin and you were cursing me. We were trying to sing these songs like, ‘Why am I here?’”
Michael admitted, “It’s hard to sing like these people. They are pretty darn good at singing.”
Chastain had to sing in her recent film “The Eyes of Tammy Faye,” which won her a Best Actress Oscar earlier this year.
While she was afraid of singing, Jessica commented, “If something isn’t challenging, I’m like, ‘Why am I bothering to do this?’ Tammy Faye was challenging. She was just from the first note, jazz handing it to Jesus. Tammy Wynette, she’s just an amazing singer.”
“George & Tammy” premieres December 4 on Showtime.