Renée Zellweger did her emotional research into Judy Garland, playing the screen legend in “Judy.”

The Oscar-winning actress says she lived her life consumed with Garland for two years preparing for the role. It’s a journey that often left Zellweger in tears over the troubled “Wizard of Oz” star, who died of an accidental overdose in 1969 at age 47.

“I’d listen to her music every day,” Zellweger told Daily Mail columnist Baz Bamigboye. “I’d watch footage of her before I went to bed. She was always there, always present. I had to get myself into Judy’s environment: her voice, her speech patterns, the moments of vulnerability in her life that make you cry.”

“Judy” takes place in the emotionally tumultuous winter of 1968, a year before her death, when Garland arrives in London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town.

Renee Zellweger shines as Judy Garland: Watch the ‘Judy’ first trailer

Renee Zellweger stars as Judy Garland in "Judy." (Photo: David Hindley)

Her voice has weakened, but the show must go on as Garland battles with management and deals with a former husband (Sidney Luft, played by Rufus Sewell) and younger, future fifth husband, Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock) — both of whom are seeking what they can get financially out of Garland.

‘”If you look back, you can see that this was a time of fatigue,” said Zellweger. “The aim was to tell the story of a woman who was struggling in her circumstances, towards the end of her life.”

The movie also travels back in time to Garland’s childhood as a young starlet.

Jack Haley, Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, and Bert Lahr in "The Wizard of Oz." (Photo: Warner Home Video)

“The cruel manipulation when she was a kid. The unkind way they got around the child labor laws. They fed her pills! She was addicted her whole professional life. I can’t imagine that she slept, ever,” said Zellweger.

The “Chicago” star will sing again on screen as Garland in the film, which opens Sept. 27.

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