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Faith Hill Says She Didn't Shave Her Armpits to Prepare for ‘1883' Role

Faith Hill spoke to Courteney Cox about getting into character for Taylor Sheridan's "1883," in which she stars opposite husband Tim McGraw

Emerson Miller/Paramount+ © 2021 MTV Entertainment Studios

Faith Hill found herself in a hairy situation after agreeing to star in Taylor Sheridan's "1883."

The actress stars in the "Yellowstone" prequel series as Margaret Dutton, a role that had some surprising requirements -- like not shaving her armpits. This was a request that came down from the show creator himself, with Hill telling Courteney Cox that she wasn't too excited about letting her hair grow.

"That was really difficult, and Taylor actually called my husband," Hill told Cox as part of Variety's Actors on Actors series. "We were at a wedding, our nephew's wedding, and he said, 'Who's gonna be the one to tell your wife that she has to stop shaving under her arms?' And I'm thinking can this wait? He goes, 'No, stop tonight.'"

So, Hill took that part out of her routine. "It really grossed me out, I have to say," she shared. "All due respect to those who love that, and all that freedom, woo!"

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw's Cutest Red Carpet Moments

It wasn't the last time 1883 had Hill testing her boundaries. Her husband, Tim McGraw, who plays James Dutton, shared that he let Hill really slap him for their scenes to amp up the intensity.

"We talked about it before," he said on the May 18 episode of "The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon." "We don't want to do a TV slap. We want to do a real slap, but after about the eighth take, I was concussed a bit."

Considering the strength of her backhand, McGraw said he had to ask Hill, "Do we need to talk? Is there something going on I don't know about?' I was expecting a good finger slap. No, it was a palm. It was like Rocky hitting me."

And McGraw went all in on the role too -- except he was requested to do more grooming, not less. He remembered getting a bit too into character, telling Variety, "There were a few times that my wife forced me to take a shower while we were shooting, because I wanted to stay in character as best I could. She's like, 'I don't care about Method. You stink!'"

"1883" is streaming now on Paramount+.

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