Melissa McCarthy has shared her excitement around “do[ing] every incredible drag queen proud” with her portrayal of Ursula in The Little Mermaid. Speaking with Deadline at the premiere of the Disney live-action remake, McCarthy said she was indebted to the work of drag queens when embodying the villainous sea witch, whose incarnation in the original The Little Mermaid was based on the famous drag artist, Divine.
“I hope to do every drag queen proud, and Divine proud,” McCarthy said of her updated take on Ursula. The actress said she pulled from the same performance styles of Divine and drag queens more broadly, with an attitude to “give it your all, to put it all out there, no apologies and do it your way.” McCarthy said that, having always watched The Little Mermaid with Divine in mind, being cast as Ursula was “a full circle moment.”
“I wanted to give [Divine] everything she was due,” she added. It marks McCarthy’s most recent shoutout to the influence of drag on her portrayal, with the actress stating last month that her version of the character is “100 percent” influenced by drag. “There’s a drag queen that lives in me,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “I’m always right on the verge of going full-time with her.”
Some fans were critical of McCarthy’s look in the role of Ursula, taking particular umbrage with the character’s make-up. In any case, the actress’ commitment to honoring the legendary drag queen who inspired Ursula will no-doubt make for a captivating performance, even if she’s surrounded by creepy photo-realistic versions of Flounder and Sebastian. McCarthy stars in the remake opposite Halle Bailey as Princess Ariel, Jacob Tremblay as Flounder and Daveed Diggs as Sebastian.
2023’s The Little Mermaid is set for release on May 25. It is one of multiple live-action remakes in the works at Disney, with updates to Peter Pan, Snow White and Lilo & Stich set for release in the coming years.
