For McCarthy, Ursula is More Than Just a Villain
For Melissa McCarthy, playing Ursula in the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, which drops in theaters tomorrow, began with terror. "That song ["Poor Unfortunate Souls"] looms so large for me that if I can't do it, I shouldn't be doing it," she told me on the latest Parting Shot podcast.
Fortunately for us, she did do it—and did it well. That's partly because she saw Ursula as more than just a villain. "She's not just ostracized, she's isolated...She is such a complicated character."
The animated Ursula was heavily inspired by the drag queen Divine, which made the character even richer for McCarthy. "There has never been a world without drag. And I do not care to ever see a world without drag."
Directed by Rob Marshall and with Halle Bailey as Ariel, McCarthy has nothing but praise for them. "He did this beautiful thing. He built the world we all want to live in. There's variety there. It's like everybody wins. Everybody has their seat at the table. Halle leads this movie with such strength. This isn't like girls need help from the prince. It's like Halle is charging to her destiny."
Honestly, it was such a joy to chat with Melissa McCarthy. Beyond The Little Mermaid, we also talked about Bridesmaids, The Spy, and her funniest fan encounter (which included a lot of very colorful words).
To listen to our full conversation, check out the Parting Shot podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts.
How did you take being cast as Ursula?
I actually pursued it, knowing that I don't have any business really doing this. But to get to play that part, I was like, I don't know if it's even appropriate, and I don't know if I can do the song, but I know her in my heart.
How do you prepare for the singing?
It was so far beyond terrifying. I started with Eric Vetro, who is everybody on Earth's vocal coach. I went for months, and finally, he's like, "Well, you're trying to sing well as Melissa." So he would have me talk as her. The second I started doing that, I was like, "Oh, I know where she is."
How did drag influence your take?
Ursula is the outsider, and with so many drag queens, there absolutely is that [sense of], I'm aware that I'm the outcast. I'm aware I'm not what you consider the norm. I'm embracing it. I'm putting a spotlight on it and giving it a mic. I don't have to conform to what you want.
I feel like Ursula needs her own film.
It would be riveting to reverse engineer what builds up that crusty shell. To watch [her] constantly being outed, always being wrong, you either are completely broken by it, or you build up such a hard shell that no one will ever get through to you, and then you're just isolated in your own prison. I think it would be unbelievably relatable.