I first heard about “George & Tammy” shortly after my memoir, “The Three of Us: Growing Up With Tammy and George,” came out in 2011. At that time, I had some initial concerns about how my parents would be portrayed in a television series based on their lives. Would the show pursue a line of honesty and really tell the full truth of my parents’ story? Or would it be something sensationalized by Hollywood? After many, many conversations with the creative team and understanding their view, I was won over. Today, I feel like they stayed true to their word — they really did achieve what they sought to accomplish.
George Jones and Tammy Wynette have been the subjects of many publications, TV shows, and documentaries, many of which focus on the negative aspects of my parents’ relationship. There is hardly ever any mention of anything positive. Those retellings didn’t really explain the humanity of the situation. My parents were real people who went through difficult times in their lives. They had their own demons to fight. I felt very pleased with how “George & Tammy” told the truth without holding back the negative aspects of their story.
At the same time, “George & Tammy” did show how human they were. We all make mistakes, and none of us are perfect. It was important for audiences to see that while you may idolize someone or admire them for the music and entertainment they create, they are, at the end of the day, just fallible human beings. They’re not going to be perfect. It was important for me that viewers saw that George and Tammy were just like us — they, too, had things to overcome.
I’ll admit that watching Jessica Chastain and Michael Shannon play my parents was surreal. There were times where I felt like both of them really captured their personalities. It was obvious to me that they took so much time and paid attention to detail to capture the essence of who my parents really were.
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Jessica, in particular, is just a champion. She reminds me so much of my mom, because when she attaches to something and decides it’s a priority, there’s nothing she can’t accomplish. She’s just a tiny, beautiful woman who has so much to offer — a big star in a little package. I remember when my sister and I arrived at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium as she was in the middle of finishing a scene. Both Michael and Jessica had so much to worry about and focus on while filming, but as soon as Jessica saw my sister and me come in, she stopped what she was doing. She asked for just a moment to meet with us and talk to us. Then she took it upon herself to find a place for us to sit so we could see the scene really well. That was not her job — she just could have happily focused on acting and finishing her scene. But I saw my mother in her, as she was also the kind of person to stop and help anybody she could anytime she felt there was a need.
Michael had studied my dad so much. My dad had a habit of tugging on his jeans or fidgeting with his pants when he was walking. It was kind of hilarious. One day on set, I saw what I thought was an older man walking across the soundstage. It was Michael in old-age makeup as my dad. When he glanced back at me, I started to cry. The way he walked and moved was so similar to Dad, it took my breath away. I think being in that moment, knowing we were going to get to watch Michael and Jessica portray my parents in front of us, brought up an awful lot of emotions. That was especially true with those scenes in which Michael played my father in his old age. It really felt like he had taken an extra bit of initiative to incorporate my father’s mannerisms in his expressions and in the way he walked.
It’s nice to know that a new generation of people is being introduced to my parents’ music — timeless music that everybody can love and enjoy. But it’s not just about the music or my parents’ celebrity. There are certainly people I’ve looked up to despite never meeting them; I don’t know anything about their lives, I only know what I read in interviews or see on TV. We all tend to judge others, whether we realize it or not.
When people watch “George & Tammy,” no matter what they thought of my parents before or after seeing it, I hope what they take away from the show is that these were two people who had a hard time together. Things didn’t work out exactly the way they planned. But they worked harder to be better people, and they loved completely and wholly. I hope viewers remember them as human beings before they think of them as icons or idols.
Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain played my parents as who they really were, honestly and authentically, and the creative team told a story that was absolutely truthful. It’s a tough task to put the full lives and the big story of a couple into six episodes of television. I couldn’t be more proud of my parents’ story, and I hope that it touches viewers as much as it did me.
This story first appeared in an August stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
