Rita Moreno took inspiration from her real-life experiences with Hollywood “bitches” for her role in The Prank.
The nonagenarian EGOT winner dropped by The View on Monday to promote the upcoming comedic film, in which she plays a mean-spirited teacher who is accused of murder by two of her students after she threatens to fail the entire class.
“This is the best part I’ve had in years,” Moreno told the show’s panelists. “It’s hilarious. It’s really a little cult movie.”
While speaking about how she tapped into the role, the actress didn’t hold back. “Let me tell you what I did: I just thought, how am I going to play this terrible person? And I thought of all the women in my life — particularly in show business — who’d really been awful to me — all of these bitches,” said Moreno.
When co-host Ana Navarro asked the actress to write down the names, Moreno quipped, “Too many, unfortunately.”
“I said to myself, I thought, I’m going to use all of the things that they did with me and my little Puerto Rican past, and that’s what I do,” she continued. “And boy was that fun! I would finish a take and go, wepa, así se hace!”
Moreno additionally shared that she selected the hair and wardrobe for her character, Mrs. Wheeler. “I designed that horrible haircut, with the bangs that are too short,” she said. “All of the clothing we got from Goodwill. I said, I do not want her to dress well. She’s mean in spirit and mean in everything.”
The Prank hits theaters on March 15, two years after its 2022 SXSW premiere.