Drew Barrymore: "I Will Learn to Stop Talking Out of the Side of My Mouth"

Us Magazine - April 7, 2009 8:56 AM PDT

Drew Barrymore has been in more than 50 films, but it wasn't until she had the chance to play the role of a socialite-turned-recluse in Grey Gardens that she was willing to put it all on the line.

"I knew this was not a courtesy meeting, but not far from it," Barrymore said of her first sit-down with Grey Gardens producers. "I didnt want to come in there like a hungry freak. But I also felt every second counting."

Barrymore promised to completely transform herself -- and get rid of one of her trademark facial quirks -- for the role.

"I just put it out there," she said in the May issue of Elle magazine. "I said, Look -- I have all of this inside of me, and I promise you that I will change my face to be her. I will learn how to stop talking out of the side of my mouth. I will go to school to relearn body language. I will shut out the world. I will not talk to my friends. I will give up my life for this, because I dont think you can play this character and have a social life and balance the two mentalities. I wont act. Ill become this person.'"

Once Barrymore got the part, she set to work.