Michelle Williams doesn't want to be a "big fat liar".
Michelle Williams
The 'Manchester By the Sea' actress likes to thoroughly research all the characters she plays so she can give a more convincing performance, even though she admits her preparations aren't always necessary.
She said: "I like to spend as much time as possible in the environment and the person, so that when I get to set I don't feel like a big fat liar.
"That's my goal. I want to believe myself.
"It's been something I've liked to do for a long time. When I did 'Brokeback Mountain', the dialect coach and I went to Wyoming and we sort of toured around for a week.
"We'd sit in bars and just listen to people. I'm just trying to pick up little clues, little details, little anythings.
"It's not necessary and sometimes I don't do it as thoroughly, it just makes me feel like I'm not a phoney.
"I don't think it's about lying. I think it's about believing what you're doing, to the point you think you're telling the truth."
The 36-year-old actress' latest movie, 'Manchester By The Sea', is hotly tipped for awards success, but Michelle insists that doesn't make it a more "valuable experience" than anything else she's worked on.
She told Total Film magazine: "The thing is, it really shows it's just as hard to make a bad film as it is a good film.
"You work just as hard. You care just as much.
"You suspend your life and give everything that you have to this endeavour. And then it turns out badly.
"It's not for a lack of trying. So when a movie that you're in succeeds, it's wonderful. But it doesn't make the experience more valuable than the others."
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