‘I know what’s happening is horrific’: ‘The Freak’ actress Pamela Rabe explains how she steeled herself to film THAT gruesome tongue-cutting scene in prison show Wentworth
It was one of the most violent scenes in Australian television history.
Now, Wentworth actress Pamela Rabe, who portrays Joan ‘The Freak’ Ferguson has spoken about what it really took for her film the Foxtel show’s infamous tongue-cutting scene.
In an interview with KIIS FM’s Kyle & Jackie O Show on Wednesday, the 58-year-old star revealed she had to compartmentalise as she acted.
In the bloody scene, Pamela’s character screeched, ‘You’ve licked your last pussy!’ to ‘Juicy’ Lucy Gambaro before slicing off her tongue with a scalpel.
‘It’s tough isn’t it? I had to kind of separate it, because I know what’s happening is horrific,’ Pamela explained about filming the gruesome footage.
‘I had to do what I suspect Joan Ferguson does, I had to have a little out-of-body experience stuff.’
Pamela also admitted that she loved the technical aspects required to film such a physical scene.
Praising the show’s writing, she added: ‘They give us such delicious stuff to work with. It can be intense, but we all relish it.’
The graphic scene reportedly took around seven-and-a-half hours to film.
Sally-Anne Upton, who played Juicy Lucy, previously told news.com.au that she was given advance warning about what her character would be subjected to.
‘My first thought was “Oh no, I cant do my one-liners and ad libs anymore with no tongue,”,’ the actress said at the time.
‘But also I realised it’d be a real moment.’
