Why Lady Gaga Watched Animal Videos to Prepare for ‘House of Gucci’
Lady Gaga has shown that she is more than a singer by landing several acting gigs. Recently, she starred in the 2021 film The House of Gucci with other big-name stars. She had the lead role and went the extra mile to prepare for the part.
For instance, Lady Gaga ate pasta and bread to gain weight. She also watched plenty of animal videos to prepare herself for the movie. She made sure she became buried in the role before production began.
Lady Gaga depicted Patrizia Reggiani in ‘The House of Gucci’
Last year, Lady Gaga starred in The House of Gucci as the main character named Patrizia Reggiani. Patrizia marries the heir to the Gucci fashion house and forges a signature to ensure her husband gets his shares. However, she does not stop there.
Patrizia wants to acquire shares from other members of the family. Her quest escalates to the point of hiring hitmen. The story draws inspiration from the real-life events of Reggiani killing her ex-husband in the 1990s.
The real Patrizia Reggiani got released from prison in 2016, so she and Lady Gaga could have met. However, Lady Gaga did not talk to her before filming, like other actors might have done. While the star read articles about Reggiani, she wanted to form her own conclusions.
Lady Gaga did not want anyone to tell her how she should depict Reggiani. She prepared for the movie in other ways, and her performance earned critical acclaim. Despite the praise, the Oscars snubbed her. Lady Gaga fans became upset that she did not receive a nomination.
Gaga wanted to emulate a panther and fox’s energy
Some stars do not plan much in preparation for a part in a show or film. Meanwhile, others go above and beyond to ensure they give their best performance. One way actors prepare for their roles is to engage in method acting before and during production.
According to BuzzFeed, Lady Gaga did a lot to ensure she was ready for House of Gucci. She remained in character for about 18 months, which is usual for this type of preparation. The process involved using the character’s accent even off-camera.
However, Lady Gaga did more than behave as her character for months. Additionally, she watched plenty of videos about animals. Specifically, the actor viewed ones featuring foxes and panthers to summon their energy while filming. Furthermore, she began to live like Patrizia Reggiani.
For example, Lady Gaga “started to take notice and where and when [she] could see money.” The star even began to take pictures of various things because she believed the socialite was a photographer. Lady Gaga did what she could to give a convincing performance, and her co-stars noticed.
Lady Gaga used method acting to get into character
It was evident that Lady Gaga became determined to get into character and wow audiences. She went to great lengths to deliver her performance. Of course, her method acting did not go unnoticed by the cast. Even the director talked about it.
House of Gucci director Ridley Scott admitted that Lady Gaga’s method acting fooled him. For a moment, he was unsure if the star spoke with an accent. Since Lady Gaga behaved like her character continuously, he believed that was how she acted normally.
Scott eventually realized that was not what Lady Gaga was like. She was similar to how one of her co-stars got immersed in their character. Despite some people’s criticisms of the acting technique, Lady Gaga defended it.
According to ScreenRant, the method acting technique helped her get invested in the role. Remaining in character was crucial to make it seem like people were watching the real Reggiani. In future roles, Lady Gaga might do the same thing and confuse her co-workers.
