Even before Elize: Shadows of a Woman director Felipe Vellasco said “action” for the first time, Lorena Comparato started to become Elize Matsunaga. For much of the production team, the shoot began on the first of the 40 days of filming, but for Comparato there had been another 40 days to prepare for her role, inspired by one of the most notorious women in Brazil.
In 2012, 30-year-old Elize Matsunaga became known throughout Brazil for murdering and dismembering her husband, Marcos. During the investigation and trial for the crime, other elements of her life came to the surface as Matsunaga claimed that her marriage had been abusive, both physically and emotionally, and this was her motivation for the murder. Comparato worked to figure out the best way to portray such a complex character.
“I read everything I could about the case,” Comparato says, recalling her active search for videos, newspaper articles, and interviews as she prepared for her audition. “The Netflix documentary was key to my process. It offers an account by Elize, following her release from prison, about what happened, as well as contributions from other people, such as the prosecutors handling the case, family members, lawyers, and journalists.”
After getting the role, Comparato worked very closely with casting director Maria Silvia Siqueira Campos, diving deep into the script written by Raphael Montes and Mariana Torres, and meeting with Henrique Kimura, who plays Marcos Matsunaga.
But there were other hurdles that Comparato needed to overcome to become Elize: She needed to look like her — a challenge for someone who had short brown hair before filming began. “On the day of the audition I wore a wig,” Comparato says. To get into character, Comparato wore blonde hair extensions, and used makeup to highlight the acne Elize had due to fertility treatments.
Born in Portugal in 1990, Comparato comes from an artistic family. Her father is Doc Comparato, considered one of the leading screenwriters in Brazilian television; her sister Bianca is also an actor and another sister, Fabiana, is a screenwriter. Comparato began her career as the host of a children’s program but later decided to dedicate herself to acting. She co-founded a women’s theater troupe and, on television, she starred in productions like Samantha! on Netflix, and Cine Hollyúdi on Globo. While she has also appeared in soap operas, sitcoms, and shows such as Rensga Hits!, Elize is Comparato’s first dramatic role, and she threw herself into the transformation completely, even speaking her character’s lines in the version dubbed into English.
“A large part of my preparation also involved asking for help, taking care of myself mentally, going to therapy for myself and for Elize’s character,” says Comparato. Watch the transformation for yourself, with Elize: Shadows of a Woman streaming now, on Netflix.
