Martin Scorsese Hired Gwen Stefani for ‘The Aviator’ After Seeing Her on a Magazine Cover
Gwen Stefani always had aspirations to get into the film industry. But she got her first start in Hollywood in a big way by landing a Martin Scorsese movie.
How Gwen Stefani ended up in ‘The Aviator’
Stefani got the opportunity she’d always been dreaming of when she was cast in Scorsese’s The Aviator. She joined a cast that included Leonardo DiCaprio, who played eccentric innovator Howard Hughes. But she didn’t do the film on a whim. The singer asserted that doing movies was always something she wanted to explore.
“I’ve been trying out for movies for years,” she once told MTV News. “Because it all comes from the same place, all the creative things inside you, and I’ve wanted to do it for a long time. But when you’re touring and writing and busy, you can’t compete with some of these actresses that are like, that’s what they do every day. But that’s one of the reasons we took a year off. I wanted to do a film.”
Scorsese first took notice of Stefani by spotting her on a Teen Vogue magazine. Ironically, the singer felt the photoshoot she did for the publication already made her feel like a film star.
“I felt like I was doing a movie,” Stefani said of the shoot. “My girlfriend Sophie Muller, who does a lot of our videos, happened to be with me and documented the whole thing.”
According to Stefani, DiCaprio was the one who told her how the filmmaker first spotted her.
“Martin Scorsese’s driving in New York City and he sees my Teen Vogue cover on the side of a bus stop shelter,” Stefani said. “And he’s like, ‘Who’s that girl? Let’s get her!’ I had Leonardo DiCaprio tell me the whole story in Martin Scorsese’s voice, so it was pretty bizarre.”
Gwen Stefani had to compete for other actors for the role of Jean Harlow
Stefani asserted that she wasn’t just handed the part. Rather, all Scorsese did was give her a chance. The singer still had to compete with other eager performers for the role. With that in mind, even her agent told Stefani not to get her hopes up. But Stefani felt she had a good chance of taking the role, so she auditioned, anyway.
“My stomach was on the floor,” she said in a separate MTV News interview. “It’s totally humiliating to walk in and have to try out. They know who you are, but it’s a casting-call thing.”
It was noted that The Voice host told herself she was only auditioning for a small role in the picture to ease herself. But the coping mechanism did little to boost her confidence. She also received help from the casting directors and producers, who advised her to tone down her glamour.
“They told me, ‘Don’t dress like a rock star, you have to dress up nice,'” Stefani recalled. “They couldn’t have been more helpful and wanting me to get it. These casting girls let me do it a million times, but I left there with sweat.”
Stefani eventually had to screentest with both Scorsese and DiCaprio, which ultimately secured her the role of 1930s screen legend Jean Harlow.
“I would like to use this occasion to publicly thank Mr. Scorsese for the opportunity he gave me. Thank you,” she said.
Gwen Stefani shared that she still wants to act
At the time, Stefani seemed interested in continuing her acting career. It was all about finding both the time, and the right film, to do so.
“I’ve been trying to do films for years. So I’ve decided to wait until the next good part comes along and develop a record on my own in the meantime. I’m calling it a side project because I don’t want people tot think I’m leaving the band,” she once told Cosmopolitan.
However, it’s worth noting that Stefani hasn’t done a feature on the level of The Aviator since. And with her recently having her hands full with a family, it seems likely that the artist has chosen to strictly focus on her music career.
