'DON'T RELY ON SUPERFICIAL CATCHES FOR AUDIENCE' Monika Rawal Kukreja monika.rawal@htlive.com

Claudia Doumit from The Boys talks about nuanced and uncliched representation of women on screen

Australian actor Claudia Doumit, who plays the role of an anti-superhero Congresswoman, in the superhero sci-fi series, The Boys, has shattered quite a few stereotypes attached to how women are portrayed on screen. The show highlights strong women in powerful positions without resorting to clichés while also delving into a number of complex issues.

While Doumit is happy that the show gets the gender representation right, she asserts, during an interaction in Sydney, Australia, at an exclusive screening, “[With anything you do or say], there’s always the [added] attachment [or an extra tag] of a woman — a powerful ‘woman’. But, I just want to take out the ‘woman’ and make it — just powerful; a powerful person; she’s a powerful political figure; she’s a powerful character in this show. I think it’s important to explore it through that lens.” The show, which is based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, also effectively combats stereotypes surrounding female villains and does not sexualise them in order to gain attention. And Doumit lauds the creative team behind the show, including the writers and director Eric Kripke, for not giving in to the usual norm. “The show creates these rich characters that don’t rely on any of those superficial or surface-level catches (like sexualising their female villains) for audiences. I mean, sure, it’s a superhero genre, so you have got capes and all that kind of stuff for the visual appeal, but it’s almost like they are poking fun at it,” says the 30-year-old, adding that the characters at their core are “so brilliant that you are not focusing on or, in fact, you don’t have to focus on anything else [to make them seen or heard]”.

Doumit’s character is based on American politician and activist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the show acknowledges the change in the cultural landscape and changes within the system. Given it’s also an extremely physically and mentally challenging role, we ask Doumit how easy or difficult it has been to catch the nuances and bring them to light.

“There have been some easy elements, but there have also been some moments where I have to dive in there and really think about how to approach a particular situation and what she would be like at that point. And it’s all very measured and very strategic, and that, I think, is very much on par with any woman who’s in politics. So, the show very much mirrors that approach, that they do have to be strategic and figure out how to come across,” shares the actor, who “really wants” to visit India “for its rich culture, food and everything else”.