Lily James Talks Playing Pamela Anderson In 'Pam & Tommy': 'I Really Love Her'

Lily James is opening up about portraying Pamela Anderson in "Pam & Tommy."

While speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the finale screening of the Hulu miniseries starring her and Sebastian Stan, the 32-year-old actress spoke about the "huge responsibility" she accepted when she took on the role of Anderson.

"It's always such a huge responsibility to play someone, a real person, particularly with Pam, she's such an icon, I really love her, and I wanted to try and do her justice and try and capture her spirit and really explore what happened at that time and how she was treated and how things have changed, or not changed," James told ET.

"Pam & Tommy" explores how Anderson's life was changed after someone broke into the home she shared with then-husband Tommy Lee (played by Stan), stole their private sex tape and released it without their consent.

James underwent a dramatic transformation for the role, from understanding what the "Baywatch" actress went through during that time to studying Anderson's voice and mannerisms.

To physically transform into Anderson, James had to sit for four hours in a makeup chair every day while the hair, makeup, prosthetics and wardrobe teams recreated the blonde bombshell's features and '90s looks, Elle reported.

"We just worked so hard 'cause I was like, you can't play Pamela and not like, you know, and I obviously do not look like Pamela. So, it took a lot of work, but it meant that I was able to believe myself in the role," James told ET. "When I looked at Sebastian, and I know when he looked at me, it was just so exciting, because we felt so in character and we really forgot ourselves."

James also revealed that she and Stan only met once or twice before they began shooting and later they "never saw each other out of character" while on set. She joked that she and her co-star practically had to re-introduce themselves once they went on a press tour to promote the Hulu series.

James' performance has generated awards buzz since "Pam & Tommy" premiered, which the actress said was "so surreal."

But while she's "proud" of the work they've done on the series, James said her priority now is to keep "pushing forward" and keep "getting jobs."

Meanwhile, those who know Anderson personally were not impressed with Hulu doing a miniseries about her and her ex-husband, according to reports.

An anonymous source close to the former Playboy model told People that the leak of the sex tape was a "very traumatizing situation" for Anderson and it was unfair that she was re-subjected to the trauma through the Hulu series.

"Pamela deserves a level of respect. She's a human being and a mom. There's a sense of hypocrisy about it. It's her life and she should have the decision [as to] whether it's turned into a commodity for public consumption," the insider said.

One source told Entertainment Weekly that Anderson will "never" watch "Pam & Tommy," even its trailer.

The finale episode of "Pam & Tommy" airs on Hulu Wednesday.