Lily James says she 'hated' removing her makeup and costume after transforming into Pamela Anderson for 'Pam & Tommy'

• Lily James spoke to Porter about her "freeing and liberating" transformation into Pamela Anderson.
• James stars as Anderson in the upcoming Hulu series "Pam & Tommy" alongside Sebastian Stan.

"Pam & Tommy" star Lily James said that she loathed reverting to her usual appearance after transforming into Pamela Anderson for the upcoming Hulu biopic.

"I hated it," James said in a new interview with Porter. "It was like being stripped of all these superpowers! I'd really enjoyed the physicality and the sensuality, even down to the long fingernails. There was just so much character to hold on to — it was really thrilling."

James, known for her roles in"Baby Driver," "Downton Abbey," and 2015's "Cinderella," said that she "never worked so hard" for a part as she did for "Pam & Tommy."

"I've never done anything where I look very different from myself before," she said. "And I'd really like to continue in this vein, because I felt there was something very freeing and liberating in it. There was a bravery that came from that. A courage that came from… disappearing."

James told Porter that her four-hour physical transformation involved a blonde wig, chest plate, and fake tan.

The eight-episode series, premiering on February 2, centers on Anderson and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee's (played by Sebastian Stan) whirlwind romance.

The "Baywatch" actress and Lee wed in 1995 after only knowing each other for 96 hours. The pair would divorce three years later, in 1998.

The show addresses their infamous sex tape that was filmed during their 1995 honeymoon, with Seth Rogen starring as Rand Gauthier, the real-life electrician who discovered the tape in a safe that he stole from Lee's home. The tape was sold and went viral upon its distribution on the Internet.

In 1998, Anderson and Lee two won a copyright infringement suit against Internet Entertainment Group, the company that leaked the tape.

Hulu released first-look images of the stars as Anderson and Lee in May 2021.

Fans were particularly shocked by James' uncanny and unrecognizable transformation into the Playboy model. But singer Courtney Love, a close friend of Anderson, slammed the show in a since-deleted Facebook post.

Love called the series "disgusting" and accused it of exploiting Anderson's invasion of privacy, according to Entertainment Weekly.

"I find this so fucking outrageous," Love wrote, adding: "It caused massive trauma to her, her family, her community. Her finances."

Neither Anderson nor Lee is involved in the forthcoming show, and James told Porter that she was "hopeful" that the "Baywatch" star would partake in some capacity.

"My sole intention was to take care of the story and to play Pamela authentically," James said, adding that she reached out to Anderson on her own.

The first three episodes of "Pam & Tommy" premiere on Hulu on February 2 with new episodes streaming weekly.