How Glenn Close transformed into 'Mamaw,' her 'Hillbilly Elegy' character

Predictions are already running rampant that "Hillbilly Elegy" will net Oscar nomations for two of its lead stars, Glenn Close and Amy Adams.

And it's easy to see why - both actresses transform into their characters, Close undergoing perhaps the more significant physical change.

"It started with me knowing that I didn't want to be distracted by my own face," Close told Yahoo Entertainment.

"Hillbilly Elegy" is based on a memoir by J.D. Vance about his own family. Ron Howard said of adapting his book, "the reality is we had to tone our Mamw down a little bit ... we felt like ... if we went full mammo, no one would buy it."

Video transcript

- You're going to have to take responsibility or someone else--

- For what?

- --is going to have to step in.

- Who, huh? Who? You?

KEVIN POLOWY: Glenn, are you sure you're in this movie? Because I'm not sure I saw you in this.

GLENN CLOSE: No, it's my sister.

KEVIN POLOWY: I-- [CHUCKLES] you completely disappear. What can you tell us about the incredible physical transformation that you went through for this role? You are rendered completely unrecognizable. Of course, a huge part of your performance is also the sort of physicality involved in capturing Mamaw's mannerisms, but what can you tell us about that transformation?

GLENN CLOSE: It started with me knowing that I didn't want to be distracted by my own face. And we had a portrait of Mamaw. We had wonderful input from the family, very specific input and video that gave her great energy, essence. But she had a very specific look, and she wore what she wore all the time-- Nikes, the jeans, and the baggy shirts, and smoked incessantly.

- Family's the only thing that means a God damn.

RON HOWARD: Glenn is such a chameleon and has so much range. And, you know, she was at a disadvantage because everybody else got to meet their counterpart.

GLENN CLOSE: I really was privileged to be able to sit down with family members and just ask very specific questions about her mannerisms, her voice, her body language. Learned that she had a bad hip and that she-- emphysema, basically. And so it was just a slow process with my wonderful collaborators who helped me with "Albert Nobbs," Martíal Corneville with the hair, and Matthew Mungle designed the makeup. And it was a character that demanded that kind of transformation to be authentic with her.

- [LAUGHS]

- How many times have you seen this?

- Oh, about a hundred.

KEVIN POLOWY: How did you react the first time you saw Glenn Close de glammed as Mamaw?

OWEN ASZTALOS: I was pretty taken back. You know, I think seeing Glenn with the hair and makeup team behind it, who are absolutely incredible, and also seeing Glenn's physical transformation in her mannerisms-- you know, the way that Mamaw walks, the way that Mamaw talks, the way that she snarls at you when she's angry is just something totally unique, and you see how invested she really is in her character.

RON HOWARD: The reality is we had to tone our Mamaw down a little bit. This woman was wild. She was wild and outrageous, and she owned it. So we felt like if we went all the way-- if we went full Mamaw, no one would buy it.

KEVIN POLOWY: Did you take that look out, you know, for a spin in public to, like, maybe enjoy some anonymity for an afternoon? [CHUCKLES]

GLENN CLOSE: No. I mean, the funny thing was when we had our hair and makeup tests in the studio in Atlanta, I decided to walk in in full drag with a cigarette hanging out of my mouth and nobody knew who I was. [LAUGHS] That was really fun. So I know we had achieved what we wanted to achieve.

KEVIN POLOWY: Amy, you engage in some really difficult moments involving both physical abuse and drug abuse in the film. I mean, you are no stranger to heavy drama, but this looked like a challenging shoot. How tough are those days on set?

AMY ADAMS: They can be really challenging. The scenes involving the children where it was really heightened as far as the arguments and/or physicality, those are really hard to shoot and something that I was nervous about. But I would, after every take, apologize to Owen, and I found him comforting me. So he turned into a great comfort to me during those moments. He was a wonderful young actor to work with, and so I was really grateful. And also Ron Howard and Glenn-- everybody has so much gratitude for what we get to do, and everybody brings that to the set.

The crew really was supportive. They would come up and talk and share their experiences, either with mental illness, with drug addiction, with trauma. It really opened everybody up, and we all felt like we were together telling this story. So it was a really-- it was one of my favorite shoots I've ever been on.

[MUSIC PLAYING]