The fabulous Lady Gaga on A Star Is Born and punching paps

The larger-than-life singer tells us about her big-screen moment and going Gaga for her co-star

No one could accuse Lady Gaga of being shy. After all, this is the woman who wore a dress made of raw beef to the VMAS.

Over the years, Gaga has become known as much for her jaw-dropping fashion as for her highly-stylised music videos and ridiculously catchy pop tunes. But, let’s not forget, beneath the wigs and shoulder pads and tentacles, there’s a 32-year-old called Stefani Germanotta. And ironically, in her first major film role, we’re getting a glimpse of her for the first time ever.

Following on from her Golden Globe-winning performance in US TV series American Horror

Story, this month sees the much-hyped release of A Star Is Born. The film not only marks Gaga’s debut big screen leading role, playing struggling artist Ally, it’s also Bradley Cooper’s first foray into directing. Oh, and he sings in it, too. And the risks have paid off: the film’s winning rave reviews and Gaga’s a revelation. Here, the superstar chats about stripping away the persona to find the character of Ally – and why being her pared-back self is the most challenging costume she’s worn…

You and Bradley have great chemistry in the film…

There was and is a lot of love there. We felt it on set, and we still feel it now. It’s such a touching movie.

But that’s a testament to Bradley. He truly created a family and he nurtured us. He’s the nucleus of this. I’m just so forever grateful to have met him.

How did you find him as a director?

Tremendous – completely focused on set. Such a visionary, so inspiring, so passionate and yet so free and so sacred. It was one of the most fulfilling artistic experiences of my life, if not the most.

Your character, Ally, is insecure about her looks – can you relate to that?

Now, as a woman, I am happy. As a child I was much more insecure about my nose. I come from an Italian immigrant family and I looked very different to a lot of the girls I went to school with – blonde, blue eyes, very perfect, symmetrical faces. But as I got older, I grew to appreciate more of my heritage and be proud. I am happy with my nose. I actually never told anyone this, and I don’t know why, but a record executive actually suggested that I get a nose job before I put out my first album. I didn’t.

Good for you. What prep did you do for the role?

Bradley really challenged me to take my make-up off and to have my hair its natural colour. And this was essential – I really feel like I became Ally – and there was no way for me to stop being her during the process of filming, and even in preparation. I actually dyed my hair [back to her natural shade] quite a while before we started filming to get into the rhythm of who the character is.

The film deals with the fallout of fame – how do you cope with it?

I just spent a month with my family in Paris. We still live in New York and take the subway and go to the park. So, the paparazzi are an issue, but at some point you just have to deal with it. But talk to me in a year – I may punch someone, who knows?

How different are you from Ally in real life?

Transforming into Ally was so different from who I was when I started my career. I really believed in myself and was like, “I’m going to make this happen,” and I was running around New York City banging down doors, singing my ass off as much as I could. I believed I was going to make it. But Ally has completely given up on herself. Taking my make-up off, having my natural hair colour, it gave me a sense of vulnerability that I’m not used to.

Was it tough getting into her mindset?

I had to get past the nerves, but I was also so excited. In my opinion, when somebody has talent inside them, brewing for years, ready to move into another medium and it finally happens… it’s like a huge explosion, an opus. Bradley was meant to direct, and I just got lucky enough to be in his first film. I really believe that when an artist is moving into a new medium – if they have been studying and gestating, like in a petri dish just so long – then it’s like an explosion of talent.

Was Bradley a convincing musician on set?

His character Jackson’s sound and who he is as an artist completely came from him, and it was so exciting for me to watch as a musician. He was in the studio all the time, working with us and helping to craft the soundtrack. I remember one day we were working on something for him, and he was like, “This isn’t Jackson’s sound. This isn’t what he sounds like.” I was like, “Oh, OK. I got a musician on my hands.” It provided for such an inspirational experience, and he had his hand in absolutely every single thing that was a part of this movie. It was fantastic to be in the midst of – just an honour to watch really. We knew we needed people to buy into the fact that he is a musician and I am an actress – that had to happen within the first ten minutes of the film for it to work.

You’re playing an unknown star, pre-fame. Do you ever wish you could relive that time in your life?

I often have a vision of me when I was around 19, living on the Lower East Side. It was just me

‘Bradley Cooper is an incredible director – he’s the real deal’

and this teeny tiny studio apartment with my piano and my futon. I used to wake up and I would either go to the café down the street to write, or I would just walk the streets of New York by myself and I was just dreaming. I had no idea what was in store for me. I miss that innocence.

What was it like seeing yourself on the big screen for the first time?

It’s different. It’s very vulnerable, because you see everything and your face is so big and your body is so big – it’s larger than life. It’s very different from watching myself on American Horror Story on the small screen. It was overwhelming and emotional, but I just feel so grateful, because in Bradley, I have such an incredible man by my side – a companion, an incredible director, and incredible actor. I feel like, from the moment the film starts, it’s so clear that he’s a rock star and he is the real deal.

Did you enjoy watching it?

It affects me so much every time I see it. It’s very sensory to me. For me, ever since we left the Venice Film Festival [where it was first screened], it was almost like we were on this extreme high . I got home and all I could think about was the film.

What was it like to also sing in the movie?

When I sing, I feel a vibration throughout my entire body and then a release. For me, it’s a tremendous relief. Whatever I have to say, it’s like saying something, but amplified times a million.

Do you plan to focus on acting in the future?

I love acting, and it has whetted my appetite, but I am very spoiled. I think for me, it’s more about doing the right things, and doing things that I really, truly believe in that touch my soul, because working on this really touched my soul. Bradley inspired me every single day. I don’t think I could work on a film with someone that didn’t inspire me every single day.

The film’s such a celebration of music – who’s your favourite singer?

I still remember my father playing me Bruce Springsteen’s

Thunder Road for the first time at six years old. He was swinging me around in his arms and he was dancing with me, and he would cry and look me in the eye and say, “I just never want you to grow up, I just want you to stay this little, you are my baby girl.” To this day that song sticks with me. My father also played Pink Floyd and Billy Joel for me. And there was jazz playing throughout the house as I got older, and I played classical music when I was a kid.

Finally – the Elizabethan dress you wore to the London premiere [above] was amazing…

It was beautiful. I sent Bradley pictures beforehand, and he loved it! It was daring, although the rain could have made it look like a wet Big Bird.