Ant-Man sequel actress Brings ‘Ghost’ role to life
Actress revels in opportunity to build up character
Interviewing Hannah John-Kamen, the 28-year-old British actress who plays Ghost in the newest Marvel movie, I saw something you won’t see in Ant-Man and the Wasp. I saw her laugh.
John-Kamen laughs easily and frequently as she talks about her role as the villainous Ghost. But while the actress is happy, the character lives in a constant state of pain, which makes her an unusual villain. Far from desiring riches or world domination, she just wants to rid herself of the affliction that makes her “phase” in and out of solidity.
“The way I approached Ghost is she’s not a villain,” says John-Kamen. “She’s an antagonist but she has a very clear goal and a clear objective of what she needs in the movie, and she’ll fight tooth and nail to get it.”
Ghost first appeared in the comics in 1987 as an enemy of Iron Man, and later joined the Thunderbolts, a team of reformed villains. John- K amen read the relevant back issues, but there weren’t many.
“I did find out that the character was originally written as a man,” she says. “But Ghost didn’t have an origin story. So it was actually really freeing for me to know that and go: ‘OK, I’m going to take him and give her life.’” She switches pronouns as easily as the Marvel team rewrote the character as female. “I’ve got so much freedom to do that, and I can really create her from scratch and be the first person to introduce Ghost to the Marvel universe.”
In the film, Ghost has a close re- lationship with scientist Bill Foster, played by Laurence Fishburne. But John-K amen says she bonded with everyone on the team. “We would all go out and sing karaoke. Prince’s Purple Rain or Superstition by Steven Wonder — they’re my karaoke go-tos. It’s a fun movie, so we all had fun making it.”
Music helped put her in the right mood on the set as well. “The minute I get in the car in the morning and travel in, I kind of zone out and play my music and get ready for the day. If it was going to be an action day, I’d play some drum ’n’ bass. If it was an emotional day ... I’d zone into my sadder music, slower tones.”
She was also keen on doing her own stunts. “I actually really enjoy it in my career. You know, in Ready Player One and (TV’s) Killjoys, I do my own stunts. I think it’s really important for me as an actor to do as much as I physically, humanly, possibly can, because that’s a lot to do with the character ... especially in this movie with Ghost and what her suit represents and what her powers are, phasing and fighting the other characters. I really wanted to be apart of that .”
This extended to doing stunt rehearsals in costume, “so I could see what we could really go for, and what we could do, and see what the limitations were if there were any.”
She continues: “I did do as much as I could and I loved every minute of it. Once you’ve done a take and you’ve got that adrenalin up afterwards and everyone’s clapping, you kind of feel that energy. I kicked ass.” There’s that laugh again. “That’s a fun feeling. Kicked ass in a superhero suit.”
John-Kamen’s CV of late has tended toward fantasy and science-fiction: She had small roles in Tomb Raider, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and TV’s Game of Thrones, a couple of episodes of Black Mirror, and a starring role as an interplanetary bounty hunter in the Canadian-made Killjoys. But that hasn’t been her plan.
“It’s the way the cards have fallen,” she says, noting her career has also included crime dramas Whitechapel and The Tunnel, and The Hour. But she’s happy to ride the science-fiction train. “I’ve been having too much fun doing it,” she says. “It’s been amazing, and I’m a fan of it myself.”
Ant-Man and the Wasp opens July 6 across Canada.