Lady Gaga Looks Back at Her ‘Sopranos’ Acting Debut

Lady Gaga is looking back at her official acting debut on The Sopranos as she reflects on how much she’s grown as a performer since her days as “Girl at Swimming Pool #2.” Gaga, who back in 2001 was going by her name Stefani Germanotta, opened up about her brief appearance on Season 3, Episode 9 of the lauded HBO show in a preview of Entertainment Weekly‘s upcoming Awardist podcast centered around her role in the Oscar buzz film House of Gucci.

“When I look back on that scene I can see exactly what I did wrong in that scene,” Gaga said of her first on-screen role in The Sopranos. “I didn’t know how to listen in a scene! I was supposed to laugh, and it was sort of like, cue, laugh…. I see it and I go, ‘Oh, that’s not a real laugh!’”

Gaga said she’s “grown a lot as an actor” in the years since her background role in the critically-acclaimed TV show, and she isn’t wrong. The pop star has carved out a niche for herself on camera after winning the Academy Award for Best Actress following her performance in A Star Is Born and is favored for this upcoming award season for her portrayal of Patrizia Reggiani in Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci opposite Adam Driver.

“The nuance and being specific as an actor is something that can grow over time if you’re willing to listen and really hear the other actor that you’re working with,” Gaga said of the work she’s put into her acting over the years, including the immersive performance as Reggiani. Gaga collaborated on every part of her character, she said, from the styling to straining her physical appearance as Reggiani’s circumstances take a dive.

“I see a very non-specific actor [on The Sopranos], and now I see myself as someone who is at least really striving to be specific without thinking about it, and that requires a lot of work ahead of time,” Gaga noted. “I really thank my acting teacher, Susan Batson, she and I worked for months and months on this before we filmed, and Ridley Scott, an incredible director who creates a sanctuary for you on set to just fly.”