When most fans think of Idina Menzel, it’s in the context of her iconic Frozen character. So her role as Dinah (a.k.a. Adam Sandler’s wife) in Uncut Gems was a bit of departure for her, to say the least. But according to the actress, she’s not that far off of her own personality. And she had a funny way of describing how she got in Dinah’s mindset when it was time for cameras to roll.
In Uncut Gems, Howard (Adam Sandler) finds himself in the midst of a chaotic whirlwind after he pawns Kevin Garnett’s championship ring in an attempt to pay off some gambling debts. Throughout this endeavor, he takes time to sit through a Passover dinner with his estranged wife, Dinah, who he’s getting ready to divorce. When he asks her for another chance, she goes into full no-nonsense mode and swiftly shuts him down -- another blow to a man who’s already on his way down. Though Dinah is a supporting character, Idina Menzel’s crackling portrayal is very memorable. And in a behind the scenes featurette for Uncut Gems, she revealed that there was really only one key difference between her and Dinah (via Decider):
I just approached her like myself, but three tequilas in. [It’s] what my accent usually is late at night, after a couple of drinks. So that was my method!
All jokes (and shots) aside, Idina Menzel really grew to respect her Uncut Gems character, because she saw a lot of familiar traits in her:
[B]ecause she reminds me a lot of the women I grew up with on Long Island — how strong-willed she is, how honest she is, she doesn’t take crap from anybody, she’s a really great mother. And she was probably a really good wife.
Despite the anxiety-inducing energy of Uncut Gems story and the persistent tension between Howard and Dinah, it sounds like Idina Menzel and Adam Sandler actually had a pretty easy time working together on set. And Adam Sandler said that was, in part, thanks to the fact that his real life wife, Jacqueline Titone, is a big fan of Idina Menzel:
Nothing better than when your wife says, ‘That actress you’re going to pretend is your wife is the best.’ It makes life easy.
It’s safe to say Jacqueline Titone is not the only person who thinks Idina Menzel is the best. In addition to her impressive performance in Uncut Gems, the Tony-winning actress has also reminded us why she’s truly Disney royalty, thanks to the incredible success of Frozen 2. Since Elsa and Dinah really couldn’t be more different, it will be interesting to see what kind of role Idina Menzel takes on next -- and whether she’ll need to channel her love of tequila to get into character.
