Lady Gaga has suggested that she often feels “safer” being in pain and in art than she does in her own life.
The musician and actor recently starred in biographical crime drama House of Gucci as Patrizia Reggiani, for which she used a notable Italian accent.
She reflected on her approach to her craft in a discussion with Jake Gyllenhaal as part of Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series.
In their conversation, Gaga – real name Stefani Germanotta – explained her reasoning behind using the much-discussed accent for Reggiani on set, even when not filming:
“When I’m in character, I don’t pretend we’re not filming. I get people who are like, ‘Why did you keep your accent the whole time?’ Can you imagine going in and out of that s**t all the time, and I would only get three takes? I had to be ready.”
Gaga continued explaining her method, revealing that she finds security in giving herself fully to the character and the story.
“The way that I feel safe is just that I feel safe being in pain. I feel safe in art. I almost think I feel safer with art than I do in life,” she said.
“When I did the bathtub scene, when I went under, they had to yell ‘cut’ because they were like, ‘Get her out of there!’ I was fine. I can hold my breath for a long time. I’m a singer. I feel protected by art. I feel art has saved me my whole life.”
Gaga has received positive reviews for her performance in the film and is currently among those rumoured to receive an Oscar nomination for this year’s ceremony. She won her first Oscar in 2019 for Best Original Song for “Shallow”, from the film A Star is Born in which she also starred.
Read The Independent’s review of House of Gucci here.
