Lady Gaga makes cinema debut in A Star Is Born, says she's humbled by the role
Lady Gaga has made her film acting debut in A Star is Born, which marks her co-star Bradley Cooper's directorial debut.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Toronto International Film Festival, where the film is currently screening, she said that she was humbled by the role, calling herself “just a girl from New York who couldn’t get an audition.”
“I’ve always wanted to be an actress and this is more than I ever imagined,” she told reporters. “I am just so honoured and grateful and humbled.”
In the film, Gaga plays an aspiring singer named Ally who becomes romantically involved with an ageing country singer Jackson Maine (Cooper). As Jackson grapples with addiction and tinnitus and his own star wanes, Ally’s career takes off.
All the songs in A Star is Born were performed live on Gaga's insistence. So the film, which marks Cooper’s directorial debut, is also the first to showcase his voice, songwriting and musical abilities. The Silver Linings Playbook actor took singing and music lessons for six months to prepare for the role.
“Preparation was the hardest thing,” he said. “Starting to sing and realising that I really couldn’t; starting to learn guitar and piano and realising I couldn’t.”
Gaga, however, said, “At the beginning of making this film, we shook hands literally, and he said to me, ‘You’re an actress.’ And I said to him, ‘You’re a musician’.”
“A Star is Born” is the third remake of the original 1937 film. It was remade in 1954 with Judy Garland, and in 1976 with Barbra Streisand.
