Isabella Rossellini Reveals What She Told Her Body Double Right Before Nude Scene inDeath Becomes Her

Mar. 15, 2025

Isabella Rossellini (center) in ‘Death Becomes Her’.Photo:Universal/courtesy Everett Collection

Universal/courtesy Everett Collection

Before her body double stripped down inDeath Becomes Her,Isabella Rossellinitook her aside to give her an important message.

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 toldVarietyin a new interview promoting her upcoming thriller,Conclave.

From Left: Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn in ‘Death Becomes Her’.Universal/courtesy Everett Collection

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 ofDeath Becomes Hercomes amid a resurgence of sorts for the dark comedy, which washeavily referencedinSabrina Carpenter’s latest music video, “Taste.”

Meanwhile, aBroadway musical adaptationstarring 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.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

It also comes after the starreflected on another one of her early films,David Lynch’s 1986 mystery-thrillerBlue Velvet.

While discussing another one of her recent projects withIndieWire, Rossellini responded to legendary late film criticRoger Ebert’s originalreviewof 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.”

Isabella Rossellini in ‘Blue Velvet’.De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

De Laurentiis Entertainment Group/Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty

“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 madeBlue Velvet— toldIndieWire, “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.”

source: people.com