With 2018's A Star is Born, Lady Gaga proved that in addition to being a great singer, she is also a fantastic actor, earning an Oscar nomination for her performance. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Gaga opens up about her next big role as Patrizia Reggiani in House Of Gucci and how she drew on personal experiences to bring the complexities of the character's life to Ridley Scott's latest film.
Gaga has been open about her sexual assault as a young woman and the trauma that has inflicted upon her; a trauma that she drew upon to depict her character falling apart, but, as Gaga describes it, there began to be a blur between the character and her real life. Gaga told THR:
“It’s a scene where I knock a lit candle across the room, and I remember I gave Salma a heart attack that day. “I was falling apart as [Patrizia] fell apart. When I say that I didn’t break character, some of it was not by choice.”
This was not an uncommon thing for Gaga, as she began to experience a dissociative state, one so severe it required hospitalization. Scott was even said to have pulled the actress aside imploring her to not traumatize herself. To which Gaga responded, "‘I already have. I’ve already been through this anyway. I might as well give it to you."
Despite her throwing herself into roles, what draws people to Gaga is her charming personality, as Scott recounts to the THR, "I found Stef [Gaga] to be inordinately approachable, and frankly, a lot of fun. She's very smart and very, very perceptive. I knew after that first meeting, it was essential that she would do this part". While the early reviews are mixed on the movie and Gaga's performance, there is no denying that what Gaga brings to the screen is an authenticity to the role and to herself. As Gaga puts it:
“Part of what makes a good character is knowing what the deep need of the character is. But you can’t understand what the deep need of your character is unless you understand your own. My deep need was always to make my father proud. For Patrizia, I think it was to make her mother proud by way of mattering to a man. A man like Maurizio.”
House of Gucci is directed by Scott (The Last Duel, Gladiator), with a screenplay by Becky Johnston (Seven Years In Tibet) and Roberto Bentivegna. The movie also stars Adam Driver, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons, and Al Pacino. House of Gucci will be released only in theaters on November 24.