Melissa McCarthy Reveals Drag-Inspired Performance as Ursula in “The Little Mermaid”
Actress Melissa McCarthy has recently shared that her performance as Ursula in the upcoming film The Little Mermaid was influenced by drag. She mentioned to Entertainment Weekly that she has a “drag queen that lives in” her and that she kickstarted her career by performing in New York City nightclubs as the drag persona Miss Y.
McCarthy said that keeping the humour, sadness, and edginess in Ursula was everything she wanted in a character, as well as a drag queen. She isn’t the only one who associates Ursula with drag; the movie’s composer Alan Menken confirmed that Ursula is inspired by the drag queen Divine.
“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,” McCarthy Told EW of Ursula. “All my references are terrible, but I kept thinking, ‘Many a Pall Mall has this woman had.’”
The new live-action movie will take a deeper dive into the sea witch’s origin story, revealing Ursula as the estranged sister of King Triton, Ariel’s father, and the black sheep of the family. In order to fully prepare for the physical demands of Ursula’s tentacles, the movie’s director, Rob Marshall, had a unique plan for McCarthy. She had eight dancers around her, each one puppeteering a 10- or 12-foot tentacle, to help her execute the character’s movements.
“I had eight dancers around me, each one puppeteering a 10- or 12-foot tentacle,” the comedian described. “I would swoop to the left and all of these dancers would come with me. Then if I’d reach out for something, one of my tentacles really would go out and bring something back.”
Halle Bailey, who plays lead mermaid Ariel, also had to undergo intense physical training for her role, including being locked into a harness for her to spin and rotate, creating a similar visual to swimming. Despite the difficulty, Bailey loved being able to feel like she could fly.
Jonah Hauer-King was chosen to play Ariel’s love interest, Prince Eric, in the movie. Although Harry Styles was also in contention for the role, Marshall ultimately went with Hauer-King because of his “sweetness” and “deep passion.” Bailey and Hauer-King became close friends during the screen test, with Hauer-King recalling that Bailey personally came to wish him luck and express her hope to see him again.
