Christina Aguilera On Cher: 'She Is The Most Amazing Person'
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- Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 November 2013 06:02
- Written by Lupe Haas
During our interview with the cast of BURLESQUE, Christina Aguilera proclaimed Cher "the most amazing person that I have ever met." The Grammy-award winning singer credits Cher with "completely changing" her outlook on a personal and professional level. "I learned from her in all accounts," she quipped. She and Cher became like "chatty girlfriends" who still keep in touch through emails and phone calls.
Initially, Christina Aguilera, Eric Dane, Kristen Bell, Julianne Hough, and Twilight's Cam Gigandet would naturally feel intimidated to work
with an icon like Cher but the cast immediately found it easy to work with the Moonstruck actress. Cam Giganet, Christina Aguilera's love interest in BURLESQUE, told CineMovie he was "so nervous" prior to meeting "such an icon" but within five seconds, she made everyone feel at ease. "She was so easy to be around," he added. Christina Aguilera found her "unbelievable" and admired her for her "tranquil, calm, loving energy" when she entered the room while still maintaining a presence. Former Dancing with the Stars dancer and country singer Julianne Hough also makes her acting debut in the musical and loved that Cher was "so cool and down to earth" and "real". All the actors aspired to reach that level of "realness" Cher brought to the production.
It's only natural to think the young cast sought out advice and tips from the veteran actors on BURLESQUE but Stanley Tucci feels it's not their place to give advice to other actors. "You can't really say, 'Come here kid' you're just there to support them," said the Academy Award nominee. Cher reveals she received good tips early on from Meryl Streep about what she needed to know about acting. "First you have to be better in someone else's close-up than your own. And never work with Roy Scheider" was Meryl's joke to Cher.
Before BURLESQUE, Cher's last appearance in a motion picture was in the Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear comedy Stuck On You in 2003 as a mean version of herself. When asked what she missed most about acting when she stepped foot on the BURLESQUE set, she replied, "You forget that it's fun. I got along great with everybody probably more with him (Stanley Tucci) than anybody but I still got along great with the girls and Christina." Cher added that the days were "long and grueling" and longer than on any other past productions but "it was fun." The girl talk was so much fun, the girls had to be called several times to the set. According to Julianne, Cher would not lock herself away in her trailer but would hang out with the cast and crew. Julianne fondly recalled sitting on the floor with the other female casts while Cher entertained them with stories from her past.
Cher may not admit to sharing acting tips to acting newcomer Christina Aguilera but Christina says Cher did give "her priceless information that she will cherish forever." Both Cam and Christina admit they learned a lot by watching Cher be fearless and free in her acting style. Cher threw out a lot of the dialogue "out the window" and tried everything to get it right. The biggest lesson Christina took away with her was to be "real and natural in front of the camera." She does admit the hardest part of her acting debut was the crying scenes. "It's really hard to find the motivation over and over again," said the award-winning singer. "I found it dark and depressing on those days because I had to revert back to memories that weren't so nice from my childhood." Her first love scene with Cam didn't prove easy either. She described the moments as "awkward" and "unsexy when there's a zillion people looking at you."
Christina may be used to having all eyes on her but her acting debut will surely double those numbers when BURLESQUE opens Thanskgiving weekend.
