Melissa McCarthy, who is gearing up to slay her role as “Ursula” in the live-action remake of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ admits that she channeled her “inner drag queen” as inspiration for the villain.
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Melissa McCarthy Channeled Her ‘Inner Drag Queen’ For Her Role As Ursula In ‘The Little Mermaid’ Live-Action
While speaking with ‘Entertainment Weekly‘ in a recent interview, Melissa McCarthy opens up about the live-action remake of ‘The Little Mermaid,’ starring Halle Bailey as “Ariel.”
52-year-old McCarthy begins by explaining how before she became a successful actor, she used to watch the original Disney film endlessly, alongside the children she used to nanny in her 20s back in New York.
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In the ‘EW‘ piece it is noted that for McCarthy’s role in the live-action reboot, she found inspiration for the half-squid villain in the popular drag queen Divine — who initially inspired the original Ursula; and who McCarthy happened to emulate for a 2011 ‘EW‘ cover story photo shoot.
McCarthy claims the 2011 shoot is is her most “favorite” that she has ever done “in [her] entire life,” adding, “It still is the one I always talk about.”
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And for ‘The Little Mermaid‘ remake, McCarthy adds that she “100 percent” used drag as an influence. She admits, “I’m a huge, huge fan of drag shows and the whole art of it and the entertainment of it. I’ve been going to shows since I was not supposed to be going to shows. There’s a drag queen that lives in me. I’m always right on the verge of going full-time with her.”
She further explains that she even started her career performing as a drag persona in Manhattan clubs, under the name “Miss Y.”
She adds, “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.”
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It is also reported that Alan Menken, who returned to write new music on the live-action remake, confirms that Divine was used as inspiration for the “Ursula” character, previously and currently.
McCarthy adds, “I was like ‘That’s somebody who enjoys some Divine and some John Waters.’ That’s all we watched in college.”
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