Meryl Streep Had Fake Teeth Made For 'Big Little Lies' & Didn't Even Tell HBO

There are very few things that Meryl Streep can't do. She's been in the entertainment business longer than most of us have been alive, and her long-running acclaim has likely earned her the ability to take a few professional liberties here and there. Well, for her latest role as Mary Louise Wright on Big Little Lies, Meryl Streep got custom fake teeth, according to Cosmopolitan, and get this: She didn't tell a single soul that she was having them made. It sounds like she basically just showed up on set with them in and then said something like, "This is who I am now," or whatever.

OK, it probably didn't go down exactly like that, but Streep totally got fake teeth made of her own accord. Also, this news came straight from one of her BLL colleagues' mouths, so you know it's legit.

"I was blown away by her dedication as an actor," Kathryn Newton — who plays Abigail Carlson, aka Reese Witherspoon's daughter on the show — told Cosmopolitan of working with Streep during a recent interview with the outlet. She then went on to reveal that Streep was so dedicated that, "She made fake teeth for the role, you know? She didn’t ask anybody, not even HBO. She just did it."

So, why did Streep have fake teeth made, though, you wonder? Well, for the sake of her character, of course. You see, Streep is starring as Mary Louise Wright, the mother of the late Perry Wright (played by Alexander Skarsgård). Hair and makeup could have probably done a pretty good job of making her look related to Skarsgård on their own, but Streep — being the consummate professional that she is — decided to go above and beyond with a subtle, custom detail.

"Yes [her teeth] were 100% fashioned and inspired by Alex’s teeth," executive producer Gregg Fienberg recently told Page Six at the Big Little Lies Season 2 premiere. "She is his mother after all. It was Meryl’s brilliant idea." A brilliant idea, indeed.

It seems as if everyone on the BLL set was impressed with Streep's brilliance for one reason or another. Even Reese Witherspoon — a giant star in her own right — was nervous about working with such a cinematic legend.

During a recent appearance on Good Morning America, Witherspoon (who plays Madeline Mackenzie) recounted, "The first day of the second season, I had to work with Meryl Streep — on the first day! — which is so exciting but also completely terrifying, and I think I barely got out words," the actor admitted. "She was like, 'It’s OK.' I had to literally go into another room and go, 'Calm down, she’s just a person, she’s just a human being.'"

The first episode of BLL's second season only *just* aired on June 9, and Streep's performance on the show is already getting rave reviews. That shouldn't come as much of a surprise, though. She's Meryl Streep. She can do it all — including getting customized fake teeth made without anyone's permission.