Melissa McCarthy Calls Playing Ursula in 'The Little Mermaid' an 'Out of Body Experience' (Exclusive)

Melissa McCarthy landed the dream of a lifetime when she was cast as Ursula in Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid.

“I’m so excited to see it in its full glory,” the 51-year-old actress told ET’s Lauren Zima of the movie while at the 27th Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday.  

“Doing the Mermaid and working with [director] Rob Marshall and doing one of my favorite villains of all time was an out of body experience,” she added. “I loved it. I loved every second of it and I cried like a baby on my last day. I was like, ‘I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to leave.’ So, every single part of that process was amazing and beyond.” 

McCarthy is joined by a host of other talented musicians and actors in The Little Mermaid. Disney’s live-action also stars Halle Bailey as Ariel, Javier Bardem as King Triton, Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, Awkwafina as Scuttie and Jonah Hauer-King as Prince Eric.  

Taking the lead on the music is Lin-Manuel Miranda, who gave ET a look at what’s in store for the upcoming flick. “New songs,” he revealed at the Critics' Choice Awards. “All the songs you love are there, I did not touch them, just some new stuff.”  

Disney’s live-action Little Mermaid is to hit theaters in May 2023. 

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