Don’t ever let it be said that Lady Gaga isn’t ambitious: She says one person she’d love to play on-screen is one of the most iconic figures in the Christian Bible.
In an interview with Deadline, Gaga is asked whether — since she plays a real person in her movie House of Gucci — she’d like to play “anyone else in history.” “You know what? I always wanted to play Mary Magdalene,” she responds.
“But I think that’s because I was fascinated by her growing up, because she was seen as this harlot that was essentially Jesus’ girlfriend and she washed the feet of Christ,” Gaga continues. “She’s in so much iconography…and she’s so important. She was there at the Ascension. She was also there at the Crucifixion.”
Gaga adds, “She’s this essential piece of history, but she’s also seen as a dark figure, a harlot. She’s very much The Scarlet Letter.” She also notes that her song “Bloody Mary,” from her album Born this Way, is about Mary Magdalene.
“It was all about this woman that was willing to do anything to love who she believed to be the greatest gift to Earth,” Gaga explains. “I always thought that that could be interesting, the story of her. I guess I’m interested in women’s stories.”
And while Gaga was eager to tell the story of Patrizia Reggiani in House of Gucci, she reiterates that it wasn’t necessary for her to have Reggiani’s “blessing” to portray her.
“I think the blessing that you need is when you are on a world stage — the way that I am very often — is that of the audience,” she explains. “And when the audience embraces you and trusts you to tell them a story, that’s the blessing that I need.”
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