I was so self conscious I practised my Cruella cackle in the shower
CRUELLA star Emma Stone has revealed the secret behind her maniacal screen laugh – and what makes her cry in real-life.
The Oscar-winning actress says she was too self-conscious to practise her cackle in front of other people – so perfected it in the shower.
And with rave reviews pouring in for her portrayal of wicked Cruella de Vil, it looks like she pulled it off perfectly.
Emma said: “Practising the laugh… I couldn’t do that in front of anybody. That was just humiliating to work on.
“I was in the shower trying to figure out how you perfect your own evil laugh. It has nothing to do with being an actor.
“I did all of my cackling in the shower. I did my cackling alone.
“That’s like any person – go take a shower and try to do your version of a laugh and just see if you’d ever want to do that in front of a person. It’s brutal.”
Emma had a tough act to follow after Glenn Close played Cruella so brilliantly in the 1996 version of 101 Dalmatians, and the sequel.
That’s not to mention the 1961 Disney cartoon which started it all.
But in Cruella, Emma plays the baddie as a young fashion designer.
TEARS
There is already talk of an Academy Award nomination for Emma, who won an Oscar for La La Land in 2017.
Yet despite all her success, she admits being in awe of fellow stars – and often bursts into tears when she’s around them.
Emma said: “I do not very often play it cool, but I think I tried to keep it semi-cool in front of Steve Martin because I’ve cried in front of multiple other people and it’s got to stop.
“I have this instinct to burst into tears when it’s someone whom I’ve really admired since childhood so it’s happened too many times.
“I’ve cried in front of Diane Keaton, I didn’t cry in front of Bill Murray, but I walked away and cried, and then I was in the elevator for the first time with Lorne Michaels and I turned into the corner of the elevator and cried.
“I don’t do it as much any more, but in my early 20s it just would overwhelm me so much. I was like a chihuahua. I’m fine now.”
Emma did manage not to cry when she was presented with her Oscar by Leonardo DiCaprio in 2017.
She said: “I have seen Titanic seven-and-ahalf times in theatres. He was the love of my life. I had a signed picture of him in my bedroom that I got for my birthday when I was 12. I was walking to Leo… and I was like, ‘This is officially the most surreal moment of my life’. I could not
believe it. I think he probably thinks I’m a little weird because whenever I see him, I’m kinda, ‘Hey, how’s it going?’
Emma has since had another Oscar nomination – as best supporting actress for her portrayal of servant Abigail opposite Olivia Colman in period drama The Favourite. Olivia, 47, went on to win best actress for her role as Queen Anne.
Emma’s career goes back more than 15 years and her first roles were credited under her real name of Emily and her original acting name of
Riley. She explained: “I changed my name to Riley for a minute when I was 16. I was a teenager and they said you could change your name and I was like, ‘What’s a cool name? Riley is a cool name. I’ll be Riley’.
“And then that totally freaked me out, so I changed it to Emma. Anybody who knows me calls me Emily. I do like the distinction because if I hear Emma, I know I must be working.”
The actress says her public persona is a whole world away from her real self.
“I don’t have social media or really engage in that side of my life,” she
I have this instinct to burst into tears when it’ssomeone I admire
EMMA STONE ON MEETING OTHER CELEBRITIES