Melissa McCarthy is seriously funny. But we all know that – the actress has more than proven that over the years, from her roles as lovable chef Sookie in Gilmore Girls to straight-talking Megan in Bridesmaids and gutsy detective Shannon Mullins in The Heat. More interestingly, what we’ve come to realize is that she’s as adept in dramatic roles. Earlier this year, the comedy queen was nominated for a best actress Academy Award for her role in the biographical drama Can You Ever Forgive Me? She portrays real-life author Lee Israel, who had success in the ’70s and ’80s before falling on hard times in the ’90s. Months behind with rent payments, Lee started faking and selling letters by great writers – until she was caught by the FBI and convicted of forgery.
This isn’t the first time Melissa has played a con artist, as her role as Diana in Identity Thief shows. So what is it about her that seems to inspire filmmakers to cast her as a scammer? ‘I think I’m pretty shifty,’ Melissa quips. ‘I don’t know, but it’s really fun to do… It’s the fun of getting to be an actor: you get to walk around in someone else’s shoes – especially to get to be Lee, and just say anything that comes to your brain. And she’s so unapologetic about it! That’s a very cathartic [experience]. [It] allows me to be very mellow in real life.’
Mellow is an understatement. According to her good friend actress Maya Rudolph, Melissa is a living, breathing ray of light. ‘If there were an actually bottled ray of sunshine it might be [Melissa],’ says Maya. Ironically playing characters such as Lee Israel is one of Melissa’s favorite things.
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