Lady Gaga definitely put her all into playing Patrizia Reggiani in Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci”.
Gaga talks about the role in a candid new interview for the “Just for Variety” podcast, revealing how she stayed in character throughout the filming of the flick.
“I was the same way for ‘A Star Is Born’. I was always Ally,” she says. “And for this, I was always Patrizia. I always spoke in my accent. And even if I was speaking about things that weren’t related to the movie – I wasn’t pretending that Maurizio was waiting for me downstairs – I was still living my life. I just lived it as her.”
Gaga adds of the impact the role had on her mental health: “I brought the darkness with me home because her life was dark.”
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The musician then reveals for the first time that she sought on-set help from a mental health professional during the final days of shooting: “I had a psychiatric nurse with me towards the end of filming. I sort of felt like I had to. I felt that it was safer for me.”
She insists she is not sharing this new information to “glorify” her commitment to acting, telling the podcast: “I don’t think that any actor should push themselves to that limit. And I ask myself all the time why I do that. I’ve done some pretty extreme art pieces throughout my career — the things I’ve put my body through, my mind.
“It’s like a walnut of sadness in my stomach as I say this to you. I don’t know why I’m like that. I think that the best answer I could give you is I have a sort of romantic relationship with suffering for your art that I developed as a young girl, and it just sometimes goes too far. And when it does go too far, it can be hard to reel it in on your own.”
Patrizia Reggiani served 18 years in prison for plotting the murder of her ex-husband Maurizio Gucci (played by Adam Driver in the film).
Gaga says of the movie receiving criticism from the Gucci family: “I can’t even imagine how painful this must be. And it’s why I tried to put something important into the role. And I also believe it to be the truth. So for what it’s worth, I care about people. And I would never have been a part of a real story about someone that was just a terrible person.”
She adds of being concerned for her safety while shooting the flick: “I wondered all the time when I was in Italy if [Patrizia] was going to show up. I mean, she’s out of jail. There was a safety element.”
