Photo: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Melissa McCarthyis paying homage to drag queens with her newest role.
The actress, 52, spoke withDeadlineMonday night in Los Angeles atthe world premiereofThe Little Mermaid, in which she plays Ursula, the villainous sea witch oppositeHalle Bailey’s Ariel.
Telling the outlet she’s “been a huge fan of drag” since her teen years, McCarthy added, “It’s just so fun. It’s irreverent. You can poke fun and pay homage to someone at the same time. It’s all delicious things wrapped up in one.”
She also said she has “watched [theoriginal 1989 animated versionof]The Little Mermaidmore times than any other movie,” thanks to her time as a nanny, “and I always was like, I know for a fact, but I couldn’t prove it, that [Ursula] had to be based onDivine.”
“She just had to be — I was like, the makeup, the look, the attitude. And now we know that yeah, she was, of course, based on Divine,” McCarthy added.
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Melissa McCarthy as Ursula inThe Little Mermaid(2023); Divine c. 1983.Disney, Shutterstock
Considering her love for drag and her own past seeing the animated film so many times, she told Deadline her experience stepping into Ursula’s tentacles was a “full-circle” moment.
“I just hope to do every incredible drag queen proud and Divine proud. Just to give that same [attitude] — to give it your all, to throw it out there, no apologies, do it your way,” McCarthy said. “I wanted to give [Divine] everything she was due.”
Confirming thatdrag was a huge inspirationfor her Ursula performance, theBridesmaidsactress toldEW, “There’s a drag queen that lives in me. I’m always right on the verge of going full-time with her.”
“To keep the humor and the sadness and the edginess to Ursula is everything I want in a character — and frankly, everything I want in a drag queen,” she added.
Melissa McCarthy inThe Little Mermaid(2023).Courtesy of Disney
Speaking with PEOPLE last month at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, McCarthy calledgetting to play Ursula something of “a fever dream.”
“I think it took quite a while for me to kind of digest that,” she added.
TheOscar-nominated actress — whorecently graced the coverof PEOPLE’s 2023Beautiful Issue— also opened up about the process of becoming the iconic Disney villain and the many “extremes” of playing the famous sea witch.
“[Ursula] is just bigger than life,” McCarthy said. “So then to kind of have to live with her for that long and really think about, like, what is she afraid of? What is she insecure about? By the end, I really fell in love with her in such a different way.”
The Little Mermaidis in theaters May 26.
source: people.com
