It may surprise you to know House of Gucci star Lady Gaga has already won two Academy Awards — but they were both for Best Original Song for tunes she created for both the 2015 documentary The Hunting Ground and the 2018 drama A Star Is Born. However, Gaga also boasts formidable acting chops, as she was also nominated for Best Actress for the latter film, in which she co-starred alongside writer-director Bradley Cooper.
A new featurette for Ridley Scott’s upcoming fashion dynasty crime drama is now putting Gaga’s thespian chops on full display, with fellow Academy Award winners and co-stars Jared Leto, Al Paccino, and Salma Hayek veritably singing the praises of the artist’s turn as the conniving Patrizia Reggiani.
“When I saw Lady Gaga in A Star Is Born, I thought, this is a real engine of creativity,” director Scott said in the featurette.
“Lady Gaga brings a certain unpredictability and that’s exciting because you really don’t know what to expect,” added Leto, who plays Paulo Gucci in the film.
If there’s any vehicle that will snag Gaga a coveted Oscar — for acting, this time around — we’d probably place our bets on House of Gucci, which is based on a true story about how Reggiani conspired to arrange for the murder of her husband, Italian fashion heir Maurizio Gucci, portrayed in the film by Adam Driver.
Reggiani was convicted for the crime in 1998, having served 18 years in prison, attempting suicide in 2000, and released back in 2016. Though she has now served her sentence, Gaga explained in a recent interview that she chose not to meet the former socialite so as not to help glorify Reggiani’s actions in her mind.
“I don’t wanna collude with something that I don’t believe in,” Gaga said. “You know, she did have her husband murdered.”
You can watch Gaga steal the spotlight as Reggiani, for which she reportedly spent nine months speaking in an Italian accent, when House of Gucci hits theaters on Nov. 24.