MUNN’S THE WORD
After a long slow burn on the screen, actress’ career is hot, hot, hot
Pushing the comedy envelope is something Olivia Munn has enjoyed doing since her stint as a confident Daily Show correspondent. So voicing the determined Misako (nicknamed Koko), in The Lego Ninjago Movie seemed like the appropriate opportunity for the former Newsroom star. The bonus was working in the Chris Miller and Phil Lord universe, which includes animated hits and quirky live action remakes.
“From the beginning you could see that they had a vision and they were going to follow it through,” says Munn at the Legoland California theme park, a 30-minute drive north of San Diego.
“That’s what Lord and Miller do that’s so great. They make things that they love and it’s adult friendly as well as kid friendly, and it became their own thing.”
After The Lego Movie scored with critics and at the box office in 2014, co-creator Lord confessed that he and partner Miller had carved out a career as a filmmakers by exceeding low expectations.
They had collaborated five years earlier on the surprise hit Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and then added to the overachieving with the 21 Jump Street makeover and its sequel and yet another Meatballs picture. They also produced The Lego Batman Movie, which arrived in theatres last winter. And now there is The Lego Ninjago Movie, directed by Charlie Bean. In the latest, zany, animated comedy loosely based on the TV show, six teen ninjas protect their island of Ninjago. They also struggle with life in high school, especially Lloyd Garmadon (voiced by Dave Franco).
Things get even more complicated when Lloyd, the group’s Green Ninja leader, has to stand up to his absent father who is the evil warlord Lord Garmadon (Justin Theroux), who’s leading the attacks on Ninjago.
Comforting Lloyd is his mother Misako (Munn), Lord Garmadon’s ex-wife. Keeping it in the family is Master Wu (Jackie Chan), who’s the wise leader of the ninja kids, and Lord Garmadon’s disapproving brother.
Rounding out the ninja crew are the hotheaded Ninja of Fire (Michael Peña), the cautious Ninja of Lightning (Kumail Nanjiani), the robotic Ninja of Ice (Zach Woods), the musical Ninja of Earth (Fred Armisen) and the bold Ninja of Water (Abbi Jacobson).
Munn’s Misako is one of the pivotal characters for more than a few reasons.
“What I loved about Misako is that she’s the eternal optimist and she’s going to love her son (Lloyd) through everything as he goes through this hard stage in his life,” says the actress. “He’s having difficulties with kids at school, and his father is an evil warlord so that doesn’t help.”
Unlike the two previous Lego animated films, the Lego Ninjago feature has a few things to say about family and the complex relationships that can evolve. “I think there’s a very distinct message in the movie that’s really important for kids to learn,” Munn says.
“It’s that you can’t control things that are happening in your life but you can control who you are and how you decide to live your life.”
As a black belt in taekwondo, she also appreciates the martial arts philosophy showcased in Ninjago, which underscores the assertion that violent confrontation isn’t always the best solution.
Munn was reminded of the ideology by returning to the discipline after more than a decade to prepare for her role of Psylocke in X-Men: Apocalypse.“I got back into martial arts when I was doing X-Men as a way to be ready for the possibility of doing all my own stunts,” she says. “Since then, I’ve been doing martial arts as my workout, and I realized as I did get back into it I had a stronger sense of self because I have to focus on keeping my body and my mind strong.”
Initially, Munn needed that resolve. She endured a slow build to her career from 2004 to 2009, earning bit parts in films and TV shows.
In 2010, she made some moves landing the job as a correspondent on The Daily Show and then showing up in the films Date Night and Iron Man 2.
She finally “arrived” via her portrayal of the whip-smart TV reporter Sloan Sabbith on HBO’s acclaimed The Newsroom from 2012 to 2014.
Next June, Munn can be seen in the much-anticipated female spinoff Ocean’s Eight with Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Anne Hathaway.
“I only have a cameo but I was honoured to do it,” she says.
While X-Men: Dark Phoenix films in Montreal, she’s vague about returning to the franchise as Psylocke. But chances are good she will be back.
The actress can confirm that last June she wrapped filming The Predator, which is Shane Black’s remake of the 1987 sci-fi horror flick.
She’s also playing a CIA operative in 10 episodes of Six, the History Channel’s series about Navy SEAL Team Six missions, which is currently shooting in Vancouver.
“After that I’m going to force myself to take two months off,” Munn says. “I feel like I’ve been going non-stop.”