Mariah, Lenny, Mo'Nique Unrecognizable in 'Precious'

Oct. 30, 2009— -- In his quest for authenticity, filmmaker Lee Daniels has been known to strip his stars of their vanity, rendering them nearly unrecognizable.

In "Monster's Ball," which Daniels produced, Halle Berry's unglamorous turn as a widow who falls in love with the racist prison guard who executes her husband, earned her an Academy Award.

Watching Daniels' latest film, "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," which opens next Friday, audiences will have a hard time recognizing some of the film's stars, comedian Mo'Nique, pop star Mariah Carey and rocker Lenny Kravitz, who play roles far removed from their glitzy Hollywood personas.

"Somebody who does makeup for me said this is a Mariah Carey nightmare. 'You have everything that you hate going on right now,'" Carey told reporters at the Toronto Film Festival. "But it was cool because a lot of people say they don't recognize me in the film. They don't know it's me and, to me, that was a great gift that (Daniels) gave me to be able to really go that far away from who I am."