After nearly two years of waiting, the first images of Andrew Garfield and Jessica Chastain as everyone’s favorite televangeli$t couple Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker have been released. Garfield and Chastain will portray the rise and fall of the Bakkers in the upcoming film, The Eyes of Tammy Faye.
For anyone unaware of the scam that once rocked the Christian world, the Bakkers rose to prominence decades ago through their religious TV show The PTL Club, which gave them millions of fans and millions of dollars. The Bakkers grew in wealth and fame, before everything came crashing down following a sex scandal involving Jim. That scandal ultimately led to the fall of the empire, jail time for Jim and a very public divorce.
The Eyes of Tammy Faye is based on a documentary of the same name released in 2000. In an interview with People, Chastain said she was intrigued by the script’s subversion of the popular notion of Tammy Faye that has seeped into the public consciousness — a notion Chastain says doesn’t line up with reality.
“Here’s a woman that I had an idea of because of what I was fed about her,” Chastain explained. “Even the thing about the mascara running down her face. There is not one picture of her with mascara running down her face in reality. But people were always making her into a clown and punishing her for the mistakes of her husband, which all throughout history women have been the victim of, atoning for the sins of men.”
The first-look pictures, given exclusively to People, show major prosthetics were used on both Garfield and Chastain to complete the Bakker look. From the perfectly styled hair to the enormous amounts of makeup, the resemblance is uncanny. “Every moment, I had something on my face,” Chastain said. “I have a dimple in my chin that she didn’t have, so we would seal that up. Her face was more round than mine, so I would have things on my cheeks. Their expertise just helped me so much with my confidence in playing her.”
The Eyes of Tammy Faye will hit theaters September 17.
