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Lady Gaga hired a psychiatric nurse while shooting 'House of Gucci': 'I was always Patrizia'

Lady Gaga has revealed that her commitment to her “House of Gucci” character had her concerned for her own mental health at one point.

In a podcast interview with Variety, Gaga said she brought a mental health professional on the set toward the end of filming for the Ridley Scott drama about the over-the-top Gucci fashion house.

“I had a psychiatric nurse with me toward the end of filming,” Gaga told Variety. “I sort of felt like I had to. I felt that it was safer for me.”

The pop music icon famously stayed in character as Patrizia Reggiani, the Italian socialite Gaga portrayed in the film.

“I was always Patrizia,” Gaga said. “I always spoke in my accent. And even if I was speaking about things that weren’t related to the movie – I wasn’t pretending that Maurizio (Gucci) was waiting for me downstairs – I was still living my life. I just lived it as her.”

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Lady Gaga took precautions to protect her mental health while going Method as she shot "House of Gucci."

The intense commitment to her craft has been a part of her artistry for a long time, but Gaga said she wouldn’t recommend this extreme approach to other performers.

“I don’t think that any actor should push themselves to that limit,” Gaga said. “And I ask myself all the time why I do that. I’ve done some pretty extreme art pieces throughout my career – the things I’ve put my body through, my mind.

“I don’t know why I’m like that. I think that the best answer I could give you is I have a sort of romantic relationship with suffering for your art that I developed as a young girl, and it just sometimes goes too far. And when it does go too far, it can be hard to reel it in on your own.”

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The Oscar winner said she hopes to inspire others to take care of their mental health by discussing her own experiences.

“It’s OK to ask for help,” she said. “If you’re feeling like that, ask for help, no matter what.”

In the long term, Gaga said her relentless devotion to art – at least when it comes to her acting career – likely won't last.

“I probably will completely change this when I have a child, but I don’t have a child yet,” Gaga said. “I want to be available and present for my children in a way that I think when you are acting in that way, it could be problematic for a child to be around.”

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Gaga has been candid about her mental health struggles throughout her career, including an appearance on the Apple TV+ series “The Me You Can’t See,” in which the Grammy-winning singer detailed a traumatic sexual assault she experienced at 19. She describes the improvement in her mental health as "a slow rise."

"Even if I have six brilliant months, all it takes is getting triggered once to feel bad," Gaga said at the time. "And when I say feel bad, I mean want to cut, think about dying, wondering if I’m ever going to do it."

Gaga said she encourages others to have patience with themselves in their mental health recovery, even if their progress isn't linear.

"You get frustrated with yourself, 'Why am I not getting better? What's wrong with me?' " Gaga said. "And you know what, there's nothing wrong with you, but there is something that's not firing right."

Contributing: Erin Jensen

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