Jurnee Smollett is known to commit to each of her roles, but her latest post a new sort of challenge.
Smollett, 38, currently plays detective Michelle Calderon on the Apple TV+ original series Smoke. Smoke, which is inspired by true events, sees Michelle on the pursuit of two serial arsonists, with the help of investigator Dave Gudsen (Taron Egerton). In an interview with People published Wednesday, July 30, Smollett described the physical rigor that went into playing Michelle.
“She’s someone who uses working out as an escape, and she tries to push herself pretty hard,” Smollett said of her character. “She’s running away from a lot of her emotions and pours it into different aspects of her life working out, but overworking out toxic relationships. She’s a workaholic and very ambitious. So, I knew physically that Michelle needed to have more of a muscular presence than I personally did.”
In order to fully embody Michelle, Smollett hit the gym. These workout sessions manifested into a new type of transformation.
“I did put on initially 15 pounds, and by the end of shooting, I was up to 20 pounds, because I wanted that part to feel more truthful,” Smollett said. “She’s a loner. She’s a lone wolf. And so, yeah, she has a little bit of body dysmorphia.”
This isn’t the first time a role has physically affected Smollett. Back in 2020, she starred as Letitia Lewis on HBO’s Lovecraft Country. During the filming of an episode depicting the Tulsa Massacre, Smollett actually endured burns on the skin of her arm, and went to the hospital immediately after shooting.
Smoke, which was created by Dennis Lehane, also stars Rafe Spall, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine, Hannah Emily Anderson, Anna Chlumsky, Adina Porter, Greg Kinnear and John Leguizamo.
New episodes of Smoke stream Fridays on Apple TV+. The season finale is set to drop on Friday, August 15.
