Lately, there have been a “Million Reasons†to talk about Lady Gaga in House of Gucci, from a new trailer to her London red carpet in Gucci couture to revelations that she stayed in character, including that Italian(ish) accent, for months while working on her role as Patrizia Reggiani. Lady Gaga, though, thinks we may be talking a bit too much about that last part. “If I’m being honest, I do feel that it’s been sensationalized that I worked on my accent for so long, and that I was in character for so long,†she told the New York Times after the film’s London premiere. The star went on to explain the method behind her role. “I think it would have done more of a number on me had I not practiced it so much,†she said, adding that the accent became “like muscle memory.â€
On the London red carpet, Gaga did clarify to the Associated Press that she likely spent closer to six months on the accent and another three and a half on the character, far from the year-plus originally reported. Yet she added to the Times that she didn’t want to start a conversation “about sensationalizing method acting.†“It would have been harder for me to go in and out of character on set than to stay in it,†Gaga said. She went on to add that quarantine contributed to her staying in character, “because what else am I going to do when I go back to my hotel room? How could I possibly turn it off?†(Director Ridley Scott, for his part, told the Times he remembered thinking, “I’m not going to question this, because it’s working for me.â€)
Gaga also elaborated on the process of abandoning the character of Reggiani after the film wrapped. “When I got on that plane back from Italy, I threw out my cigarettes,†she said. “I threw out the booze, I landed in L.A. and cleaned my life up because I couldn’t live that way anymore.†After leaving set, though, Gaga said she “experienced some type of attachment panic†with Scott. “I felt the way Patrizia felt, a life without Gucci was not a life worth living,†she said. “The greatest time in her life was being a Gucci, and I can say to you, being done with this film, that the greatest time in my life was being a Gucci. That’s how art and life line up.â€