Lindsay Lohan on Elizabeth Taylor's Life: 'I Look to Her Because She Got Through It'
"I think we have a lot of similarities, with growing up famous her whole life and living your life in the public eye," the star said at a private event for Lifetime's TV movie.
Lindsay Lohan celebrated old-Hollywood glamour at a private premiere dinner party for Lifetime's Liz & Dick at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Tuesday night.
The actress, who plays the iconic Elizabeth Taylor in the TV movie, appeared on the red carpet in a long, champagne-colored slip dress by Donna Dashini, complete with three diamond-shaped cutouts accented with red jewels matching the actress' fiery red hair.
PHOTOS: Elizabeth Taylor’s Many Loves
Produced by Larry A. Thompson and directed by Lloyd Kramer, Liz & Dick is based on the controversial love affair between Elizabeth Taylor and actor Richard Burton, played by True Blood’s Grant Bowler.
The telepic follows one of Hollywood’s most publicized and celebrated love stories in which both of the famous actors’ lives were captured by the media and witnessed by the public from the moment they met on the set of Cleopatra to their two-time failing marriage and divorce.
“I wasn’t going to let them make this movie without me, first of all. I harassed [executive producer] Larry Thompson,” Lohan revealed to reporters.
She explained that it was important for her to get the role “because it’s such an iconic story about love and defeat. Elizabeth Taylor was such an icon of mine and to so many other people that I think it was an important film to depict her correctly.”
VIDEO: Lindsay Lohan Quiet in First ‘Liz & Dick’ Teaser
While EP Thompson told The Hollywood Reporter that one of the biggest challenges was his decision to cast Lohan, he knew the Mean Girls actress was right for the role when she read with Bowler.
“Even though Lindsay Lohan is the curiosity factor and Elizabeth Taylor is the lightning rod, the movie is about Liz and Dick,” said Thompson.
He explained, “I had to have the chemistry between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Once they were in the room together and the chemistry was there and sparks flew -- I knew I could make Liz and Dick again.”
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Andy Hirsch who plays Eddie Fisher -- Elizabeth Taylor’s husband during her rollercoaster romance with Burton -- felt the same about the two actors’ convincing on-set attraction.
“They’re both incredibly talented actors so I think they both individually brought so much to it -- and a lot of fire,” Hirsch shared with THR. “I think when you put them together, you’ve got plenty of kindling to watch the fire grow.”
The actor also commented, “I think she did a wonderful job in portraying Elizabeth. They really led parallel lives at this point in Lindsay’s life to a large degree. They started out so young and were really successful. The press loved, hated them or hounded them so much.”
STORY: New ‘Liz & Dick’ Trailer Proclaims Lindsay Lohan is ‘Back’
Before stepping away to the evening’s privately held event, Lohan told reporters about how her own life compares to the famous actress.
“I think we have a lot of similarities, with growing up famous her whole life and living your life in the public eye,” shared the leading star.
Lohan concluded, “It’s hard, but there are certain people -- I look to her because she got through it.”
Liz & Dick premieres Sunday, Nov. 25, at 9 p.m. on Lifetime.
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