Movies
Rex Features
The singer plays social worker Mrs Weiss in the award-winning adaptation of Sapphire's novel Push.
Carey told Parade: "They totally changed me. I didn't want to look in the mirror. It was beyond dressing down because [producer] Lee Daniels loved to torture me.
"He really wanted me to not just look plain, he wanted me to look homely. That was his goal. He wanted a moustache and an under-the-eye thing and the bad hair.
"Now I see why he wanted it because people didn't recognise me and he didn't want me to take people out of the movie because they were seeing Mariah Carey."
She added: "I had read the book by Sapphire a few times and it really changed my life. It's very strong and powerful. I guess the button that the story pushed in me would be just empathy.
"I mean your heart has to go out to Precious because she is going through so much. It touched me as a woman. It touched me just as a person."
Movie Reviews
'Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close' reviewTom Hanks features in a long and winding journey through New York after 9/11
At the Movies
David Lynch: 10 reasons to worship himIt's time to celebrate director David Lynch as the BFI screens a season of his films.
Movies Interviews
Max von Sydow 'Extremely Loud' interviewActing legend Max von Sydow on Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Exorcist and Flash Gordon.
Box Office Charts
'The Woman in Black' wins UK box officeThe Woman in Black beats The Muppets and Star Wars at the the UK box office.
