Octavia Spencer felt she was "about to die" because of the tight undergarments she wore to last weekend's Screen Actor's Guild Awards.

The Help star told Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show today that she had three pairs of body-contouring Spanx under her dress on the big day.

And although she walked away with the prize for Best Supporting Actress, Octavia revealed that she maybe went a little too far with trying to reduce her waistline.

"I was not a Girl Scout but I try to be very prepared," Octavia explained to Ellen. "I try to over prepare. Shoes and Spanx. I triple Spanx, which is not good."

"Spanx really, really work, but you don't need to overdo it.

"I could not party that night because I was being pinched in places that I didn't know it was possible."

Octavia revealed that a chance run in with another curvy actress brought some light relief.

"I ran into Melissa McCarthy, who is in Bridesmaids and brilliant and one of my closest friends, and I was like, Oh my God Melissa, I'm about to die. My Spanx are killing me,'" she recalled. "She just said, I just went to the bathroom and took mine off!'"