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Amy Adams: How becoming a redhead helped my career

Amy Adams says her red hair has had a great impact on success as an actress,
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/ Source: TODAY

This isn't the first time Amy Adams' red hair has been talked about. After all, it's gorgeous, and her fans and fashion magazines alike have certainly taken notice over the years.

But it is the first time she's specifically attributed her success as an actress to her deep red locks.

“Based on roles that I was getting, called in for, people were responding to certain types of characters with me as a blonde and the minute I went red, it was quirky and fun instead of flirtatious and dumb. It was great. I liked that,” Adams explained at the New York Times' "TimesTalk" event on Wednesday, referring to the period when she changed her hair color from strawberry blonde to a real, rich red at age 27. She went through with the drastic transformation while on the TV show "Dr. Vegas" in 2004.

Amy Adams
As a natural blonde in 2004, Amy Adams said she had a harder time landing roles.Getty Images

Still, as "great" as it was, the 42-year-old mother found herself surprised by the reaction.

"In all seriousness, it’s just hair color," she said. "It was really fascinating to see just one element of yourself change people’s perception and that became a very powerful tool for me even in my acting."

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In fact, after changing up her hair color, Adams booked her then-biggest role as Ashley in the movie "Junebug."

Amy Adams
Amy Adams at a "TimesTalks" event on Nov. 9 where she discussed her career, including her decision to become a redhead.Nicholas Hunt / Getty Images

“If you can change one very small thing and create an entirely different perception to the outside world based on one thing, and that was actually an important lesson for me to learn, I didn’t quite get that before then,” she said.

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There has, however, been one aspect of life as a ginger that hasn't sat too well with Adams.

“Redheads, under 5-feet-5-inches, not tan, you look identical," she joked while talking about the fact that she's commonly misidentified as Isla Fisher ... and tons of other redhead celebrities. Don't worry, Amy Adams. You're always an original to us.