Horror film Us took an emotional toll on me: Lupita Nyong’o

“This movie stretched me, it bent me, it cost me a whole lot,”

In the movie a family of four – the Wilsons – are confronted by monster versions of themselves.

To make Red sound distinctive, Lupita says she mimicked a voice condition called spasmodic dysphonia.

“It’s a condition that’s brought about by trauma, sometimes emotional, sometimes physical and sometimes inexplicable,” she said.

“It’s where your vocal cords start to spasm and they create this irregular abrupt pattern of air.

“So I had experienced someone speaking with that condition and I got curious about it.”

Lupita plays mum-of-two Adelaide Wilson and a scarier version of the character called Red.

People with spasmodic dysphonia, has the condition and and can be noticed after childhood as an adult.

They find it really hard to speak during the discussions, having to put in a lot of effort to getting their voice out.

Patient’s mention it took them a while to get diagnosed because the condition usually affects people who are a lot older.

“I was told to gargle salt water and to drink hot water by doctors, but eventually a junior doctor said it sounds like something neurological and not something to do with your throat.” mentioned a patient: Lynda Clark, from Nottingham

Lynda says she has Botox injections every three months to help her voice.

“I’ve got the type that makes your voice sound breathy rather than sound strangled and sometimes I have to put in a lot of effort in to speak.”

Lynda says she has Botox injections every three months to help her voice.

“I’ve got the type that makes your voice sound breathy rather than sound strangled and sometimes I have to put in a lot of effort in to speak.”

For the film, Lupita says she met people with the condition and worked with a voice therapist – to make sure she didn’t damage her vocal cords.

The star also says she decided to stay in character when playing Red on set.

“I went a little more method than I usually do where I stayed in the vocal posture for the whole day and I would remain isolated in a room festering.”

The actress is no stranger to taking on complex roles – she won an Oscar for playing the character Patsey in the film 12 Years a Slave.

But she says she had to let out her “inner monster” while making Us and reached “breaking point”.

“It was technically very challenging. We’re playing against ourselves. The way in which things had to play out was so specific.

“It took its emotional toll on me. I definitely had a moment of rupture while making this movie.”