'I've never seen such a transformation': Renee Zellweger's co-stars reflect on Judy Garland performance

Zellweger's being touted for awards for her performance as the screen icon

Renee Zellweger is poised to receive an Oscar nomination for her role as Judy Garland in a brand new film about the Hollywood legend.

Set in 1968, Judy sees Garland arriving in London for a string of sold-out dates at the Talk of the Town concert hall, but struggling with her declining health, weakened voice and the absence of her young family, who remained in Los Angeles. Her London concerts marked some of her last public performances; Garland died of a barbiturates overdose in 1969.

In an exclusive featurette, Zellweger’s co-stars, including Rufus Sewell and Jessie Buckley, talk about the actor’s transformation into the icon and how they were left in tears following her rendition of classic Wizard of Oz song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”.

Zellweger, who recorded her own interpretations of Garland’s songs for the film, spent two hours a day transforming into the star, with prosthetics added to her face to capture the Judy “look”, along with contact lenses and wigs. Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock and Rufus Sewell also star in the film.

“What [Garland] had to overcome in a time when women didn’t necessarily feel that they had power over their own lives in the way that we do today,” Zellweger told People Magazine in May. “That stayed with me and I hope folks will be moved by that as well.”

Judy arrives in UK cinemas on 2 October 2019.