Renée Zellweger on Her Judy-Fueled YouTube Spiral

Oscar winner Renée Zellweger went down the rabbit hole of YouTube to prepare for her role as Judy Garland, the star of Judy told The Late Show with Stephen Colbert September 25.

“The internet is a fabulous research tool,” Zellweger said of spending time online watching videos and listening to audio recordings. We can obviously relate.

Zellweger also discussed relating to the balancing of public and personal life that comes with being a celebrity like Judy Garland. “I understand the gulf between the persona and the truth of human experience, certainly,” she said, adding that today’s generation of women is now able to participate in conversations about inequalities in the workplace—a right not as immediately granted to Garland.

LISTEN: Sam Smith and Judy Star Renée Zellweger Sing ‘Get Happy’

Judy follows the showbiz luminary’s later years during her final string of performances at London’s Talk of the Town. That period of time was fraught for the starlet—despite early success with films like The Wizard of Oz and Meet Me in St. Louis and later success with concert performances, Garland ultimately wound up divorced four times over, addicted to pills, and nearly penniless. Despite it all, she continued to embrace those who celebrated her throughout the years.

Joining Zellweger in the movie are Finn Wittrock (American Horror Story, Broadway's The Glass Menagerie) as Mickie Deans, Jessie Buckley as Rosalyn Wilder, Michael Gambon as Bernard Delfont, and Gemma-Leah Devereux and Bella Ramsey as a young Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft.

Watch the interview above. Zellweger and Wittrock reunited to speak to The Today Show September 25 about working together.