While she rose to prominence as a singer-songwriter, Lady Gaga has steadily been proving herself to be a formidable actor. On the small screen, she terrified fans with her work on American Horror Story: Hotel and, in 2018, she gave an Oscar-nominated performance in A Star is Born (which paired her with Bradley Cooper). Her most recent role in Ridley Scott’s crime drama, House of Gucci, may have been her most challenging role yet, though. In it, she played the role of Patrizia Reggiani, who was convicted for arranging the murder of her husband, Maurizio Gucci. As you’d expect, it was a tough part to play, and Gaga recently revealed the unsettling way she knew it was time to say goodbye to the role.
Those who’ve seen House of Gucci no doubt know that the “Rain on Me” singer put her foot into her Golden Globe-nominated role. She truly sought to embody everything that she believed Patrizia Reggiani is. However, based on her comments to W Magazine, that her fierce commitment to the role came with an admittedly disturbing side effect. And it involved numerous flies:
On the last day of filming, I was on the balcony of my apartment in Rome, and I was blasting Dean Martin singing ‘Mambo Italiano,’ and I had a cigarette hanging out of my mouth. I was Patrizia. But I knew I had to say goodbye to her: Large swarms of flies kept following me around, and I truly began to believe that she had sent them. I was ready to let her go.
I don’t think Stephen King could write a scenario more disturbing. (Okay, maybe he could, but you get what I’m saying.) One can totally understand why the moment would cause Lady Gaga to have such an epiphany. It’s a good thing that she was able to wash her hands clean of the role because, based on what’s said in the past, it wasn’t all that easy to do.
The actress was previously candid about how she actually brought some of the role’s “darkness” home with her. She even revealed that near the end of the film’ shoot, she enlisted the services of a psychiatric nurse in order to help her through the process. She’s been a strong proponent of mental health, including how it pertains to actors taking on emotionally taxing roles. Quite frankly, it’s great to know that she (along with others in the industry) are prioritizing their health over their art, no matter how great the work could turn out to be.
In addition to her personality, Lady Gaga went all in on the role in other ways. She, for example, had her stylist dye her signature platinum blonde hair brown months before shooting so that she could get into the feel of things. The surprising act was actually enough to make her stylist cry. She also brought her “very strong point of view” on fashion to the proceedings, which helped inform her looks. And of course, let’s not forget the way she handled herself during that intense sex scene. There’s also the matter of her “Father, Son and House of Gucci” line, which she improvised.
With all of the work she put in, it’s no wonder she’s received such acclaim for her performance. It’ll surely be interesting to see if the positive reviews amount to even more accolades. But of course, prestige aside, the experience should be sweeter for her knowing that she was able to let go of any emotional baggage.