Meryl Streep chose to wear fake teeth for role in Big Little Lies

'It was Meryl's brilliant idea'

Meryl Streep went above and beyond when embodying her new role in Big Little Lies, having fake teeth made to look more like her character's son.

In the second season of the hit HBO show, Streep is introduced as Mary Louise Wright, the mother of the late Perry Wright, played by Alexander Skarsgård.

Following the release of the first episode of the new series on Sunday in the US and Monday in the UK, several fans of the drama remarked on Twitter that the three-time Oscar-winning actor looked as though she was wearing prosthetic teeth.

According to Big Little Lies executive producer Gregg Fienberg, the decision for Streep to wear false teeth based on Skarsgård's pearly whites was entirely the actor's own.

"Yes they were 100 per cent fashioned and inspired by Alex's teeth," Fienberg told Page Six. "She is his mother after all. It was Meryl's brilliant idea."

However, not only did Streep arrange to have the fake teeth made herself, but she also didn't tell anyone.

Kathryn Newton, who plays Reese Witherspoon's daughter Abigail Carlson on the show, explained that Streep didn't speak to any producers about wearing the false teeth prior to filming.

"She made the fake teeth for the role, you know?" Newton told Cosmopolitan. "She didn't ask anybody, not even HBO. She just did it."

Streep's fake teeth were fashioned by Chris Lyons, owner of specialist character teeth and facial effects company Fangs FX.

Fangs FX has also lent its talents to film and TV projects including Guardians of the Galaxy, Game of Thrones and Bohemian Rhapsody.

During the first episode of the second season of Big Little Lies, Streep caused quite a fright among viewers when her character screams with grief at the dinner table.

"All Meryl Streep had to do in the first episode was scream and she basically already has the Emmy," one fan tweeted.

"Meryl Streep already deserves an Emmy for this iconic scream," another wrote. "This scene is so brilliant and should be shown in any film study class."

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