Melissa McCarthy is paying homage to drag queens with her newest role as Ursula in The Little Mermaid alongside Halle Bailey‘s Ariel.
On Monday, she told Deadline during the world premiere in Los Angeles that she’s “been a huge fan of drag” since her teen years. She said, “It’s just so fun. It’s irreverent. You can poke fun and pay homage to someone at the same time. It’s all delicious things wrapped up in one.”
She also said she has “watched [the original 1989 animated version of] The Little Mermaid more times than any other movie,” thanks to her time as a nanny, “and I always was like, I know for a fact, but I couldn’t prove it, that [Ursula] had to be based on Divine.”
“She just had to be — I was like, the makeup, the look, the attitude. And now we know that yeah, she was, of course, based on Divine,” McCarthy added.
“I just hope to do every incredible drag queen proud and Divine proud. Just to give that same [attitude] — to give it your all, to throw it out there, no apologies, do it your way,” McCarthy said. “I wanted to give [Divine] everything she was due.”
The Bridesmaids actress told EW that drag was a significant inspiration for her Ursula role, saying, “There’s a drag queen that lives in me. I’m always right on the verge of going full-time with her.”
McCarthy said, “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.”
Fans can catch The Little Mermaid in theaters on May 26.
Melissa McCarthy on embodying Ursula in #TheLittleMermaid pic.twitter.com/U4agTfvTgo
— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) May 9, 2023
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