Emma Stone learned the true meaning of “beauty is pain” on the set of The Favourite—and no, we’re not talking about acting challenges. For her role as Abigail in the 18th-century historical drama, Stone faced a corset that was anything but comfortable. It was so tight her organs, if you read that right—her organs.
Stone, appearing on The Graham Norton Show, shared that her first time wearing a corset for a role was both painful and eye-opening. “It’s historically accurate, but I couldn’t f—ing breathe,” she admitted, giving major props to the costume designer, Sandy Powell. “I would smell menthol… and it sort of made me think I was in a wide open space, then—bam—I was back to not breathing,” she laughed.
But that wasn’t even the worst of it. After a month of filming, the actress said her internal organs shit the restrictive corset. “It was only temporary, but it was Ross, confessed. “The bottom half of my stomach, whatever is in there—I’m not a doctor—went down that way, and I guess just my ribs stayed up.” Yikes. Though her organs returned to normal eventually, Stone’s sympathy for women who lived through this fashion choice was palpable. “Honestly, women existed in that for such a long t she noted. “It gives you a lot of sympathy for that time you are going through.”
Stone was the only one in that period shocked by the corset horror. The Heat star Melissa McCarthy exclaimed, “What!” while Fantastic Beasts actor Eddie Redmayne and The Young Pope’s Jude Law also chimed in. Redmayne, who has worked for stage productions like Twelfth Night, could relate. Redmayne “Quite a few,” he quipped, recalling a particularly tight experience with a whale-bone corset. “It was like I was being tightened into something from the 16th century. My body is an extraordinary kind of thing,” he explained, adding that after his experiences, he’s had a newfound respect for actresses.
Meanwhile, Stone’s character Abigail had no luxury of a leaning board or sitting down during filming—so she had to lean against a couch awkwardly as it was, but she wasn’t complaining. “I was grateful,” she said with a laugh.
The movie co-stars Olivia Colman as Queen Anne and Rachel Weisz as Lady Sarah, opened on November 23. But it’s not just the acting that’s getting attention—The Favourite’s wardrobe is stealing the show, too. Just remember: before you go all fashion-forward in a corset, think of Stone and her organs.
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