Melissa McCarthy is revealing the main source of inspiration behind her performance in "The Little Mermaid."
McCarthy, who plays Ursula in the upcoming film, told Entertainment Weekly that she was influenced by drag when channeling the evil sea witch.
“There’s a drag queen that lives in me,” she said. “I’m always right on the verge of going full-time with her.”
According to the publication, the "Bridesmaids" actor actually kickstarted her career performing in New York City nightclubs as drag persona Miss Y.
“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,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy isn't alone in associating Ursula with drag. "The Little Mermaid" composer Alan Menken confirmed to EW that the half-squid is inspired by the drag queen Divine, whose real name is Harris Glenn Milstead and rose to fame in the '60s and '70s.
Though Disney fans will recognize Ursula as the villain of the beloved storyline, the new live-action movie is expected to take a deeper dive into the sea witch's origin story. Producer John DeLuca told EW that Ursula is the "black sheep" of the family, as she's the estranged sister of King Triton, Ariel's father.
“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 said to the publication of Ursula. "All my references are terrible, but I kept thinking, ‘Many a Pall Mall has this woman had.’”
In order to fully prepare for the physical demands of Ursula's tentacles, "The Little Mermaid" director Rob Marshall had a unique plan for McCarthy.
“I had eight dancers around me, each one puppeteering a 10- or 12-foot tentacle," the comedian described to EW. "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.”
The physical expectations were similarly demanding for Halle Bailey, who plays lead mermaid Ariel in the upcoming flick. The 23-year-old detailed her experience to EW of filming in a tuning fork, which locked her into a harness for her to spin and rotate, creating a similar visual to swimming.
“It was an intense routine of having to be in the gym by like 4 a.m., working out before you go to stunts, and then you’re on the harness and in that world in the air for hours at a time and your core is burning all day, and your legs and your arms,” she said.
Despite the difficulty, Bailey added that she "loved being able to feel like I could fly."
The singer and actor met Ariel's love interest, Prince Eric, played by Jonah Hauer-King, during his final screen test for the role. The 27-year-old told the publication that he remembered his initial impression of Bailey as being a "lovely person."
Just after he returned to his trailer following his last audition, Hauer-King recalled that Bailey came into wish him luck and express that she hopes to see him again.
“I thought, ‘What does it all mean? Is that an indication? Did she knock on everyone’s door?’” Hauer-King told EW. However, he added that Bailey didn't do that for everyone and it was a personal message to him.
“We became very, very close friends — and still are,” he said.
Though Marshall went with Hauer-King for the part due to his "sweetness" and "deep passion," other hopefuls like Harry Styles were in contention for Eric. The director confirmed to EW that he spoke with the "Watermelon Sugar" singer about playing the character, but that he “really felt like he wanted to go off and do the movies that he ended up doing, which were sort of darker,” referring to "Don't Worry Darling" and "My Policeman."
