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Director reveals why he cast Melissa McCarthy as Ursula on ‘The Little Mermaid’

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Director reveals why he cast Melissa McCarthy as Ursula on The Little Mermaid
Director reveals why he cast Melissa McCarthy as Ursula on ‘The Little Mermaid’

In an interview with SFX magazine, director Rob Marshall discussed the decision to cast Melissa McCarthy as Ursula in the upcoming live-action remake of The Little Mermaid.

Marshall revealed that McCarthy’s background in drag performance was a significant factor in her landing the role, and that she had even started her career as a drag performer under the name Miss Y.

“She’s a wonderful actress, people forget that.”

“You could have knocked me over with a feather when she said to me: ‘I started as a drag performer’,” he said, alluding to McCarthy’s work as drag performer Miss Y.

“That was the first thing she said to me: ‘I was in drag shows. That’s how I started, I had this character with a big cape.’ She’s described the whole thing.”

Marshall stated that McCarthy’s understanding of the beginnings of the Ursula character allowed her to bring depth and emotion to the role, beyond her well-known comedic skills.

Both Marshall and McCarthy looked to the iconic drag queen Divine, who was the original inspiration for Ursula, in their preparations for the film.

“We really used Divine as our inspiration, because that’s where it started,” the director said.

“But the thing about Divine is that she’s bigger than life, and this character is bigger than life, but at the same time, Melissa was able to bring humanity to it.”

The Little Mermaid is a live-action remake of Disney’s 1989 animated film of the same name, which itself is loosely based on the 1837 fairy tale with an identical title by Hans Christian Andersen.

The film cast includes Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy.

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