Lady Gagaattended theHouse of Gucci UK premiere last night in a floor length, sheer purple Gucci gown, channeling the black widow she portrayed in the film, Patrizia Reggiani. Gaga even accessorised with a ring she picked out because ‘it looked just like Reggiani’s engagement ring’.
While on the red carpet, Gaga - real name Stephanie Germanotta - spoke to Grazia about what it was like to play the socialite-turned-killer. Reggiani was convicted of murder after hiring contract killers to shoot and murder her ex husband Maurizio Gucci in 1995, so she’s a pretty complex character for Gaga to delve into in her second starring role.
When we asked her what stood out to her the most about Reggiani’s character, she said ‘Her strength really stood with me. I would say that, you know, a lot of people don’t know this but when she married Mauritzio Gucci, his entire family had turned their back on him so she didn’t marry for money [as many believe]’
Gaga also points out that while many believe Reggiani had ordered a hit on Gucci for his money, she was no longer married to him at the time. ‘When he was murdered, they were divorced so there was nothing financially at stake for her. Which I found fascinating as a woman because [if it’s not for money] then it’s because she was hurt. Then it’s because it was love.’
Gaga committed to carrying this into her performance as Reggiani, even using an intense method acting process that resulted in psychological difficulties for her. ‘I spent a lot of time - six months - working on her accent and delving into her life like a journalist and into their lives to find out ‘what were the moments where she was hurt, not included, traumatised, and how did that motivate murder’?’
The real Patrizia Reggiani publicly criticised Lady Gaga earlier this year for not meeting with her as part of her development of the character. Now 72 and released from prison, Reggiani told the Italian wire service ANSA in March ‘I am rather annoyed at the fact that Lady Gaga is playing me in the new Ridley Scott film without having had the consideration and sensibility to come and meet me.’ She believes the singer should have conferred with her about the role, saying ‘a question of good sense and respect.’
But Gaga replied to Reggiani’s disappointment, suggesting she had no desire to meet with Reggiani at all, and that this was actually beneficial to playing the role well. Speaking to British Vogue recently, she explained ‘I only felt that I could truly do this story justice if I approached it with the eye of a curious woman who was interested in possessing a journalistic spirit so that I could read between the lines of what was happening in the film’s scenes, meaning that nobody was going to tell me who Patrizia Gucci was. Not even Patrizia Gucci.’ She continued, ‘I did not want anything that had an opinion that would color my thinking in any way.’
But it sounds like Gaga has done plenty of research and her wild method acting process shows she’s nothing if not committed to portraying Reggiani.
Speaking to Sky News, she continued ‘That's part of my artistry, is leaning into the suffering of a character. To say that it would be easy to play a murderer would be a lie," Gaga said. "I don't believe she had the murder gene, but I do believe that she was triggered and pushed so far over the edge that she committed this murder.’
‘I would say that in terms of letting the character go, I don't know that I'd ever let her go," she explained. Gaga suggests she feels deeply connected to the characters whenever she plays a role, having felt the same way after her first starring role - Aly in Bradley Cooper’s A Star is Born.
‘I feel [Patrizia Reggiani] inside of me all the time and I think it will take years [to feel differently]. It took me years to shed Ali from A Star Is Born and I think the same will be true here.’
House of Gucci is in cinemas from 26 November