Mariah told to drop the diva act

Director Lee Daniels had to warn Mariah Carey to drop the diva act if she wanted to participate in the movie Precious. Daniels told Mariah to leave all her star trappings at home. "If you come with a strip of makeup on," he recalls telling her, "I will have a backup (actress). I knew that she would be out of her safety zone, and I knew that there would be no one for her to rely on, to say, 'Get me this, get me that,'" he said. "I could see in her eyes... 'What is Lee doing to me?'" Daniels stripped down the Imperfect Angel's image so much she is said to have disappeared into the role; all you see is the dowdy social worker, not the mega-selling, Grammy Award-winning superstar.



For her part, Carey was greatful for the challenge. "That was such a freeing experience for me," she said. "By making me look so bad he brought out the ability to never be self-conscious again, and that was a gift that he gave me."



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