Tiffany Haddish says she’s definitely putting in the work for her upcoming portrayal of late Olympian Florence Griffith Joyner, also known as Flo-Jo.
“This is going to be huge — and my legs are going to be amazing!,” Haddish told People magazine. “Florence Griffith Joyner was an amazing human being and the more I’m learning about her, the more I’m like ‘Wow!"”
Haddish, who is also producing the yet-titled feature about the late track and field star, says her recent 50-pound weight loss has helped in her process of transforming into the runner, aside from it also being a great ego boost.
“It feels good to be able to wear a two piece and not feel like, ‘Oh, I got to put a whole sarong on and a very large coverup. It feels good to be able to be free,” she said. “And the main thing about the whole transformation is my knees feel like they’re happy. And when my legs is happy, Tiffany’s happy.”
While the comedian didn’t share new details on the forthcoming film, which is said to chronicle Flo-Jo’s life and untimely death at age 38 from an epileptic seizure, the feature is expected to highlight Joyner’s impact on the world of sports. Haddish says she’s not only mentally preparing for the role — she’s plans to look the part as well.
“I have tried on some of the outfits and I must say, I look pretty darn good in them,” she joked. “I had the long nails over the summer. We don’t have long nails right now because… I’m in the process of writing my next book. So we need the fingertips so we can move quickly on the keyboard, but the nails will be back sooner than later.”
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