‘We don’t need to have a revenge story in order to become a warrior. That’s not women today’
What is it about Lorraine, your character in Atomic Blonde, that’s unique?
I saw her ability to live and breathe in a world where she could play by the same rules that men get to play by all the time. [ Women are] known to be nurturers, and we might not be thought of as just warriors. I have a problem with that, because we really are warriors and it’s time for us to be shown that way. We don’t need to lose a child or a husband or have some kind of a revenge story in order to become a warrior. That’s not women today.
Did you need to do a lot of training for this film?
Oh, it was brutal. Mentally, I was prepared – but, once you show up for that first four- hour workout, and you get up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and you can’t sit down, and you’re like, ‘I’m not going to be able to do this tomorrow,’ and you show up and you do it again… It was good for me – when we push ourselves to that place where we think we can’t go.
You did a lot of stunts – did you live to regret that?
I really wanted to jump out of a building, but the producer in me was like, ‘NO.’ It was so early in the movie – if something went wrong, we’d have had to shut the whole project down! There’s a scene where a guy hits me with a bag, and I go down and twist on to the floor. I fell right on him, my head hit the camera, and the camera hit him. The two of us were just lying on the floor for what felt like 20 minutes, but it was probably more like three seconds.
You’ve said that it was important you fought like a woman would…
Yeah, I wanted this movie to be badass. I’m here to say, girls can do that! I only punch with my fists once in this movie, and I actually show you how much that hurts, because punching with your fists really hurts. You can break every bone in your hand. I’m normally using my elbows, my knees or my entire body weight to throw [someone]. I can’t fight the same way as a guy, but that doesn’t mean I fight any less well than a man!
There’s talk of you playing Bond in the next 007 film. What do you reckon?
I’m all for it. But it also feels a bit uncomfortable talking about it, when I think Lorraine could live and breathe in the same format. We could make a couple more movies [with Lorraine], so I’m fine with leaving Bond to Daniel Craig or Idris Elba!
You were a dancer before Hollywood beckoned…
Yes, I loved the storytelling aspect of it. I was never the strongest dancer, technically, but, when I was in Swan Lake, I adored that I was a swan dying on stage, and, when I was in Giselle, I danced to the death. Acting and dance can be very similar. A movement is sometimes more powerful than words.
What’s your favourite film role to date?
Wow, that’s like talking about your kids. You love them all for different reasons and they give you hassle for different reasons! I loved how conflicted [serial killer] Aileen Wuornos was in Monster. She makes you realise there are good people who do bad things – it’s not black and white. [Charlize won an Oscar for Monster in 2003.] Villain-wise, I had a blast playing Ravenna [the wicked queen in Snow White And The Huntsman, 2012].Her wardrobe, and that crown! I still wear it once in a while. Funny, though, my kids don’t seem to like it… lAtomic Blonde is out now