How Melissa McCarthy tapped into her dramatic side for her Oscar-buzzing new role
Melissa McCarthy’s role in Can You Ever Forgive Me? is a big leap for the actress — and not just because it’s a drama instead of her usual slapstick comedy. The film is the true story of Lee Israel, an author who, in the early ’90s, in desperation began forging and selling letters from famous people and became the subject of an FBI investigation. McCarthy has a history of playing characters who are outspoken, expressive, and a little bit nutty. Lee, on the other hand, is a curmudgeonly introvert who rarely smiles. And unlike many other McCarthy characters, she doesn’t undergo a dramatic transformation over the course of film; rather, the audience comes to understand Lee better and love her almost in spite of herself. In a conversation with Yahoo Entertainment, McCarthy explained how she reconciled her impeccable comic instincts with such a subtle, serious (and Oscar-buzzy) performance. Watch the interview above.
“It was fun, in a weird way,” McCarthy told Yahoo. “I’ve played so many very flawed, challenging women. … And I found it very interesting to play someone whose kind of downfall and trick was to be almost invisible. She wasn’t noticed by people. And I think she used that invisibility to get away with some of this stuff.” The actress, who has previously played dramatic roles in the films St. Vincent and The Nines, said that she found Israel “so funny,” in her own quiet way.
“I found her so witty,” she said. “I felt like Lee’s wit always kind of hit you later, and it may be the kind of thing where a couple minutes later you’d be like, ‘Hey!’”
Can You Ever Forgive Me? is in theaters.
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