Emmy Rossum wore 3-pound fake breasts that gave her blisters in order to pull off her role in 'Angelyne'

• Former "Shameless" star Emmy Rossum has taken on a new TV project about a Los Angeles icon.
• In a new Peacock TV series, Rossum stars as "Angelyne," a memorable woman known for billboard ads.

Actress Emmy Rossum stars in a new Peacock TV series called "Angelyne," named after a woman who gained fame in Los Angeles for being a "billboard queen." In order to transform into the '80s icon, Rossum spent up to five hours in the makeup chair getting heavy prosthetic breasts applied to her chest.

In a new Hollywood Reporter profile about the star, journalist Mikey O'Connell writes that "Rossum got blisters from the fake breasts and suffered tear duct issues from wearing two pairs of contact lenses and from the oppressive eye makeup during the shoot."

Rossum, who has been the "champion" of the series from the start, showed up to a key business meeting with NBC Universal in full costume with three-pound fake breasts and all.

"The physicality of the character was challenging," Rossum told The Hollywood Reporter. "The body is heavy, yet it has to feel light and effervescent."

Rossum is an executive producer for the show via her company Composition 8. Her husband, "Mr. Robot" creator Sam Esmail, is also an executive producer for "Angelyne."

"When I say that there are times where I did not recognize her because she was lost in this person, I really mean it," Esmail told The Hollywood Reporter. "This is my wife I'm talking about. It's kind of eerie."

Angelyne, who was born Ronia Tamar Goldberg in 1950, became a recognizable fixture of Los Angeles life when she paid for a series of billboards to be erected in the California city in 1984. The billboards showed Angelyne posing in lingerie with her name spelled out in hot-pink lettering.

She was known for driving her hot-pink Corvette around the city, and dabbled in everything from acting to singing to running in California's governor races more than once. In 2017, The Hollywood Reporter published a story revealing Angelyne's real identity, describing her as "the locally raised daughter of Holocaust survivors, a Jew who has found refuge in shiksa drag."

Rossum became interested in telling the story of Angelyne in a limited series after reading the 2017 article, and five years later her goal has been achieved.

The limited series "Angelyne" premieres on NBC's streaming app, Peacock, starting Thursday May 19.