Isabella Rossellini Reveals What She Told Her Body Double Right Before Nude Scene in “Death Becomes Her”
The actress showed a "mother"-like concern for her stand-in on the set of the campy classic, she recently recalled
Universal/courtesy Everett Collection
Isabella Rossellini (center) in 'Death Becomes Her'Before her body double stripped down in Death Becomes Her, Isabella Rossellini took her aside to give her an important message.
In the 1992 cult classic led by Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, Rossellini, 72, starred as Lisle von Rhuman, a wealthy socialite with a secret potion promising eternal life and beauty. It was a role that required a nude scene, in which von Rhuman emerges from a pool wearing nothing but heels.
When it came to filming the moment, the actress asked director Robert Zemeckis to use a body double — not because she was against doing nudity, but because she did not feel statuesque enough, she told Variety in a new interview promoting her upcoming thriller, Conclave.
Universal/courtesy Everett Collection
From Left: Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn in 'Death Becomes Her'When it came time for her body double — whose backside would appear on-screen in her place — Rossellini told the outlet she had an important message to relay. “I went up to my double and I said, ‘I will stay here in my trailer. If you need me, just let me know and I’ll come out and be here with you,’ ” she recalled.
Rossellini added, “I was there like a mother saying, ‘I’m here to protect you.’ ”
The actress’ memory of her “mother”-like behavior on the set of Death Becomes Her comes amid a resurgence of sorts for the dark comedy, which was heavily referenced in Sabrina Carpenter’s latest music video, "Taste."
Meanwhile, a Broadway musical adaptation starring Megan Hilty, Jennifer Simard, Christopher Sieber and Michelle Williams (as a version of Rossellini's character) is set to open at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City on Nov. 21, 2024.
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It also comes after the star reflected on another one of her early films, David Lynch’s 1986 mystery-thriller Blue Velvet.
While discussing another one of her recent projects with IndieWire, Rossellini responded to legendary late film critic Roger Ebert’s original review of the movie, in which he stated that Rossellini had “degraded, slapped around, humiliated and undressed in front of the camera.”
Reacting to the decades-old criticism, the actress said, “I didn’t read the reviews at the time [the movie] came out.”
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Isabella Rossellini in 'Blue Velvet'Related: Isabella Rossellini Honors Mom Ingrid Bergman 40 Years After Death: 'I Think About Her Every Day'
"I try not to read reviews,” she continued. “They’re always depressing. There’s always something that, even if [the review is] good, there is always one sentence that is negative and stays inside you forever.”
And, addressing Ebert’s specific claims about her, Rossellini — who was romantically involved with Lynch at the time they made Blue Velvet — told IndieWire, “I remember I was told that Roger Ebert said that [Lynch] exploited me, and I was surprised, because I was an adult.”
“I was 31 or 32,” she added. “I chose to play the character.”
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