Melissa McCarthyhas opened up about working on a set so “hostile” that it made her “physically ill.” The actress is about to be seen taking on the villainous role of Ursula in Disney’s live-actionThe Little Mermaid, but while speaking toThe Observer, the Bridesmaids star shared a memory of a not to great experience she had while working on on project.
While it seems that everyone had a ball working on Disney’s reimagining of the classic animated movie ofThe Little Mermaid, not all shoots are the same. In recent years, many stories have come out about various directors and stars making working on some movies almost impossible, and McCarthy revealed that she has been part of one such production. She recalled:
“I did work for someone once who ran such a volatile, hostile set that it made me physically ill. My eyes were swelling up, I was absorbing all of this nuttiness. There were people weeping, visibly so upset by this one person. And I think that’s why the manipulation worked, because to get to me, this person would fire people I loved, which kept me quiet. It was very effective.”
Eventually, McCarthy said that enough was enough and she made her voice heard on set, and it taught her a valuable lesson when working in such an environment. She continued:
“Then one day, I was like, ‘It stops today!’ I just kept saying to them, ‘It stops, it stops.’ And I know now I’ll never keep quiet again.”
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Melissa McCarthy Let’s Out Her Villainous Side in The Little Mermaid.
Although Melissa McCarthy is best known for her roles in comedy situations, playing the villain inThe Little Mermaidis something she has clearly relished. While discussing how she approached playing the character, McCarthy previously spoke about taking inspiration from her timeworking as a drag queen. She explained:
“She’s the villain, but there’s such an edge to her. She’s been put in this lair. It’s like she’s had too many martinis alone. Her friends are eels. That is a woman who has seen it, been in it, dug her way back out. All my references are terrible, but I kept thinking, ‘Many a Pall Mall has this woman had.' 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.”
While there were many doubts aboutThe Little Mermaid’s ability tocontinue the hugely profitable trendofBeauty and the Beast, AladdinandThe Lion King, it seems that those worries were all pretty much unfounded, just like the question mark that hung over casting choices like McCarthy as Ursula. With trailers and clips having given a brief look, and listen, to how this iteration of the classic story will be told, there will be plenty of people finding fun under the sea from this weekend.
