From never getting a callback to how Lady Gaga the movie star was born

Stefani Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, always wanted an acting career.

Said the 32-year-old New Yorker: "I would go to auditions as a kid - I actually wanted to be an actress before I wanted to be a singer - and I never got close to getting a callback or a role."

A supernova career as a global pop star was no mean substitute, but the acting bug never left, the last role being her 2016 Golden Globe-winning appearance in TV series American Horror Story: Hotel.

Now Gaga is making her feature film debut as leading lady in the fourth iteration of musical romantic drama A Star Is Born, a film that has already received rave reviews on the festival circuit and seems to be a sure-fire awards contender.

She plays Ally, a struggling singer discovered by famous musician Jackson Maine, (Bradley Cooper, who is also making his directorial debut) who falls in love with her.

Their romance is marred when his personal demons overtake him as her star rises.

Our two-part interview with Gaga took place during the Venice Film Festival on the rooftop of a historical palace called Ca' Giustinian with views over the Grand Canal as well as the Fairmont Royal York hotel during the Toronto International Film Festival, where she was promoting A Star Is Born, which opens here on Oct 4.

Why did you agree to do this film?

It was not a career move. It was not like I did American Horror Story and now I need to do a film. It was just the right project.

From the moment I met Bradley at my house in California, the second I saw his eyes, we had an instant connection and synergy. And before I knew it, I was feeding him leftover pasta. He is Italian and we are both from the East Coast.

Not long after that, he asked if I would sing with him, a song called Midnight Special. So I quickly printed out the sheet music and I played piano in the room with him and I was sight-reading so I was nervous.

He believed in me so much and I believed in him so much, that is why we made this movie.

What did you learn about yourself in doing this role?

It was challenging. I went to depths of my heart and mind that I have never done before because I had someone so wonderful by my side that I could give that vulnerability.

What I did not expect was for this to feel brand new again. I could cry just sitting here. (Breaks down in tears.)

I am just incredibly grateful to be here, and I thought I would never have the feeling again like I did the first time that I put out music and I had a hit record.

Before this movie is even coming out, I already feel like the experience was a hit. And I will carry it with me for the rest of my life. It changed my life.

What was your preparation like?

I was really Ally. I changed my hair and took my make-up off months before we shot. And we did acting workshops.

You have to forget about the cameras. Saying acting even feels weird, because acting to me is the wrong thing to do. The best thing to do is be.

And I was never thinking how do I look, if I should tilt my head and face or worry if they were getting him over the shoulder. I had to find the words as if I didn't know them.

When you were starting out in showbiz, were you asked to change your appearance?

This absolutely happened to me. It was suggested I get a nose job before my first music video, before my first single ever came out, and I said no. I am proud to be Italian and I love my Italian nose. I didn't always but I learnt to love who I am.

The way I maintained my authenticity is that when people come to me and say try looking this way, I would always flip it on its head and do it my way. I made sure it was what I wanted to say and how I wanted to say it.

I was always trying to challenge the norms about how people view women in pop music. And I am not done. I feel like I am just at the beginning of showing who I am.

Are there more plans for acting?

I love acting and it has whetted my appetite, but I am spoiled. I had a tremendous director and companion by my side to guide me through this process.

I think for me, it is more about doing things that I really truly believe in that touches my soul, because working with Bradley really touched my soul and he inspired me every single day.

What other dreams do you have?

I have dreams of being a mother, having a family, doing more films and making more music. But I am happy. I am not obsessed with career expansion.

I made this movie because I was inspired and because somebody believed in me. A hundred people can be in a room and 99 people don't believe in you and one person believes, and your whole career can take off.

The writer is the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a non-profit organisation of entertainment journalists that also organises the annual Golden Globe Awards.