Lady Gaga praises Ridley Scott for 'empowering' her to be ugly as her character aged in 'House of Gucci'
- Lady Gaga said Ridley Scott "embraced the ugliness" of her "House of Gucci" character.
- She said the director was particularly empowering in scenes where her character had aged.
Lady Gaga is praising "House of Gucci" director Ridley Scott for empowering her to be "ugly on camera," adding that not a lot of male directors would do so.
In the upcoming biographical drama, in theaters November 24, Gaga plays Italian socialite Patrizia Reggiani, who spent 18 years in prison for hiring a hitman to murder her ex-husband, Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver). The actress opened up about getting into the role of Reggiani in a recent interview with The New York Times, alongside Scott.
"There's not a lot of men that are directors who would empower a woman to be ugly on camera," Gaga said, noting that when she aged and had scenes where she "was in this embarrassing, desperate state" Scott "embraced the ugliness of this character and that should be commended."
Gaga continued: "Because it is ugly to be disposed of for your looks, it is ugly to be left for a younger woman."
"I appreciate that Ridley took something that was sort of a 'sexy murder' and he let it be ugly," she added.
Gaga also told the Times that she believes Reggiani, who was released from prison in 2016, "is walking around Milan deeply regretting" having had Gucci murdered.
"I think she was so traumatized that she made a big mistake," she said. "I didn't try to make her lovable, but I think that Ridley allowed her to be lovable because he empowered me as a woman."
While preparing for the role, Gaga said she "threw out" the book the movie is based on, "The House of Gucci: A Sensational Story of Murder, Madness, Glamour, and Greed" by Sara Gay Forden, because "it was filled with opinions."
The "Chromatica" hitmaker also thought it was a "bad idea" to meet Reggiani.
"I didn't want anyone to shape my thinking," she explained.
She said she felt Reggiani "would have an agenda and want me to tell the story in the way she wants it to be told."
The pop star previously opened up to British Vogue about her method acting on the film, including how she spent nine months constantly speaking in Reggiani's Italian accent, even when off-camera, in order not to break character.