Brie Larson feels as inspired and overawed by Captain Marvel as a lot of her fans. By Team Viva
What would you say about Captain Marvel?
I like the fact that my character was a superhuman before she was a superhero the most. She is known for her real skills, power and confidence and is very capable as a human being before she’s able to shoot stuff out of her hands. I love how she’s flawed and yet what a great risk-taker she is. I adore how the audience sees someone in her who might not always make the right judgement call but yet emerge victorious too. Many a times, I think, action heroes and superheroes are always made to appear like the most perfect beings. And that they always make the right call but I think it’s also important for people to watch people make mistakes and then atone for them. She teaches that with brilliance.
Your character was like a landmark role in the biggest feminist film of MCU...
There was a scene where two male characters were talking about my character and they called me a “woman” and I realised that in the past, if I would have read a script written by a man, it would have been “girl”. And I had to take a step back and go “Oh gosh, I’m 28 years old and I’m used to being referred to as a girl.” Those little things and big things come from this script being passed through the hands of women and being written by them. They’re just small things but I realised it changed the way I viewed myself.
Tell us something about your training and getting into the fighting choreography. Is that something you were familiar with?
No. I was definitely not familiar with anything like that. I was not an athletic in any way, which is why I took nine months to learn how to work and walk and act like an athlete. It was a lot more than I had thought. It was an hour and a half of practice every day that included really hard cardio and weightlifting. Then, three months before filming, the fighting training was added too. Well, that’s when it got really challenging for me because I didn’t know how to punch or kick or be on wires or fly or photon blast or even ask. It just really hit me hard. But I surely did not want to look like a fool in the film. So I’m very grateful to the stunt team that they taught me everything so well.
What would you want the audience to take away from this film?
They don’t have to take away anything. I just feel like it’s up to them to decide. There’s so much in this film. It has a lot of different aspects and I’m really proud of them. So I think if I’m lucky enough to have them in the seat and watch the film, I’m curious to hear what they have to say.
Tell us something about your character and how you felt playing her.
There is a thorough line highlighting the incredible women that we have in the Air Force. But the other thing for me that I love is that she is incredible in breaking barriers and doing amazing things even before she had super powers. That is an important fact to this too. It’s not like these powers were the thing that made her remarkable. They just highlighted what was already in her in a more powerful way.
How did you feel while playing Captain Marvel? Was there any nervousness?
Oh! I never felt nervous. I found the character so inspiring that whenever I was nervous or scared, I felt like I can turn to her and remind myself, “No! I got this.” I could connect to her so well and that feels really great. I feel like I have the same awe over her that a lot of her fans do.
Were you nervous the first day you walked onto the set as Carol Denvers? How did you ease into the character?
I jumped in head-first. The first three days of shooting were on the moving train so it was mostly physical. I had been in pretty heavy training for nine months. These scenes gave me some time to get a feel for the suit before we actually got into dialogue.
Was there an instant connection between you and your co-star Lashana Lynch?
I am an introvert but I’m also super open while working. I don’t hold back at any times and she doesn’t either. So it was really an interesting experience. The two of us did a chemistry read together and it vibed pretty well from the beginning. Lashana is smart and really special so it was easy to connect with her. We were spending so much time together and hanging around that we developed a real bond.
(The film premiered on Star Movies.)