Lady Gaga doesn’t have a ton of film work under her belt. It just so happens that her first major role, in “A Star Is Born,” earned her a ton of acclaim and even an Oscar nomination. So, for her follow-up, as the lead in Ridley Scott’s “House of Gucci,” all eyes are on Gaga to wow audiences, yet again. However, ‘Gucci’ requires a bit more from the actress, as she also has to adopt an Italian accent, which seems to be the source of a bit of controversy.
In the lead-up to the release of “House of Gucci,” a lot has already been made of Lady Gaga’s intense preparation for her role as Patrizia Reggiani, an Italian woman that finds herself deep in the Gucci family, which leads to murderous consequences. The actress has already claimed to have lived as Patrizia for more than a year to help her get into character. And in a recent New York Times interview, she said that she kept the Italian accent for months, even in her personal life.
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“I think it would have done more of a number on me had I not practiced it so much,” said Gaga about the Italian accent. “I would be talking like this with my mother, with friends, so that I, Stefani, could speak like this and it would be totally natural. It’s like muscle memory, so that when you’re in the scene, the accent is not in the way of the visceral quality of what’s happening in the room.”
Unfortunately, not everyone is a fan of the accent she adopted for her role. When the first trailer was released, people on social media were confused by her accent, as it didn’t really sound Italian, as it should. And according to an interview with The Daily Beast, one of the dialect coaches from “House of Gucci,” Francesca De Martini, doesn’t give Gaga a ringing endorsement, either.
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De Martini was hired as part of the ‘Gucci’ crew to help Salma Hayek work on her accent to portray another Italian character in the film. But when it comes to Gaga’s accent, De Martini said, “I feel bad saying this, but her accent is not exactly an Italian accent, it sounds more Russian.”
Oof. Not exactly what you want an Italian woman saying about your lead’s supposed Italian accent, huh?
Of course, poor accents are nothing new to Hollywood (we’re going to assume whatever Gaga does in ‘Gucci’ is better than Keanu Reeves’ British accent from “Dracula,” for instance). There are even times when a bad accent might add a bit of character to the role. But all signs point to “House of Gucci” being a serious drama with incredible actors all around Gaga. Let’s just hope she doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.
“House of Gucci” is set to arrive in theaters on November 24. You can hear Lady Gaga’s accent in the clip from the film below: