Some actors are well-known for going method, such as Jared Leto in Suicide Squad, where he sent fellow castmates a variety of gifts they weren’t happy about. Another of those actors is Lady Gaga, who has always chosen to go method for her roles, but while Leto’s method acting took a toll on his co-stars, Gaga’s took a toll on her own mental health.
Gaga recently appeared on the Just for Variety podcast where she revealed that on the set of House of Gucci she needed a psychiatric nurse towards the end of filming because her mental health was in such decline after going method to experience the trauma that Patrizia Reggiani went through.
“Well if I’m being honest I had a psychiatric nurse with me towards the end of filming. I did call people that I work with for a period of time and then I needed someone on set and I’m really grateful that they were there.”
Gaga explained that she has gone method before such as for her performance in A Star is Born where she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, but due to the material and the experiences that her character Reggiani had to go through, this role simply had a greater toll.
“For what it’s worth I was the same way for A Star is Born, I was always Ally. For this I was always Patrizia, I always spoke in my accent…I was still living my life I just lived it as her and I brought the darkness home with me after work because her life was dark”
Even though she has successfully gone method before, Gaga is well aware of the dangers that this technique exposes her to and she doesn’t think that anyone should put themselves through that pain.
“I really wish to not glorify that in any way and I don’t think that any actor should push themselves to that limit. I ask myself all the time why I do that.”
Why anyone would go through real pain and trauma for the sake of a role is hard to understand, but Gaga tries her best to explain it before going on to say that it’s important for people to reach out for help when they need it.
“I think that the best answer I could give you is I have a sort of romantic relationship with suffering for your art that I developed as a young girl and it just sometimes goes too far and when it does go too far it can be hard to reel it in on your own and I think it’s okay to ask for help.”
The film is based on the real-life events that occurred when Patrizia Reggiani, an outsider from humble beginnings, married into the Gucci family. Her experiences amongst the iconic family that founded the luxury Gucci brand led to her downfall when she was convicted of hiring a hitman to kill her former husband, Maurizio Gucci.
Even though the film is based on true events, it has been criticized for its inaccuracies by the heirs of Aldo Gucci. However, director Ridley Scott has chosen to reject this criticism.
Gaga isn’t the only one that went method throughout filming, with co-star Jared Leto also joining her. As explained earlier, Leto has become infamous for this extreme technique, but director Scott defended his latest descent into method acting.
Despite the pain that Lady Gaga put herself through, some can argue that it was all worthwhile with a nomination for Best Actress at the Critic’s Choice Awards and a good position to land herself another Best Actress nomination at the upcoming Academy Awards next year.
