Waiting for Gadot
t has taken nearly 80 years but Wonder Woman has finally gotten her own movie franchise.
Even though the Amazonian princess first made her appearance in a comic book way back in 1941 and appeared in a popular 1970s series starring Lynda Carter, she’s never anchored her own big screen vehicle. Until now.
Starting on June 2, the Patty Jenkins-directed “Wonder Woman” hits cinemas, and the DC Comics superhero finally gets her shot at saving the world.
An origin story, the movie chronicles the transformation of Princess Diana (Gal Gadot) from a young woman living with her all-female family on the island of Thermyscira into a heroine of epic proportions.
Along the way, Diana runs into Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), an American pilot who clues her into the horrors of World War I and warns her of a possible chemical weapons attack by a German general (Danny Huston). Feeling obligated to stop the carnage, Diana travels to London.
In the United Kingdom, Diana finds herself fighting alongside men in a conflict that is billed as the war to end all wars. In the process, she discovers her full powers and true destiny.
Being selected to play the title character in one of the only bigbudget action films ever anchored by a woman left bit astonished.
“It’s been amazing, overwhelming,” she says. “I feel very grateful. So far, so good. It’s like a dream coming true. Working on this project has been such a phenomenal, unique, special experience. Now, with some of the reactions and feedback that we’ve been getting, I just feel like, thank you everyone. I’m super excited and I’m really very happy.”
Born and raised in Israel, Gadot is the daughter of an engineer father and teacher mother. Gadot feeling a Both of her maternal grandparents are Holocaust survivors.
At 18, Gadot won the Miss Israel competition and went on to participate in the Miss Universe Pageant. Two years later, she carried out her two-year service in the Israeli military, which is required for most Israelis.
Afterwards, Gadot modeled and performed in the Israeli drama “Bubot.” Next came roles in a handful of American films, including “Keeping Up With The Joneses” and “Criminal.”
Gadot believes it is her exotic upbringing which helped give her a fresh perspective on Wonder Woman.
“I think [compassion] is one of her biggest strengths,” notes the actress, 32, who is married to Yaron Versano with whom she has two children.
“I remember when [Jenkins] and I first met, we were having dinner at this restaurant and we started to talk about our families and about life and I told her about my grandfather who was a Holocaust survivor, and how he had taught me that no matter how dark it gets in life, you need to find your inner light.
“I think … it was very important for both [Jenkins and me] that this movie has a message that is not necessarily included in most superhero movies.
“Usually, the bad guys are being killed by the good guys at the end but we wanted to have a profound message that everyone can relate to, and everyone can take home this message and actually practice it, maybe.”
With “Wonder Woman,” Gadot was not only asked to carry a big summer movie but was also required to portray Diana’s transformation from a naïve young woman into a complicated hero.
“What I love most about Diana is that she embodies all the most wonderful qualities that I love in people,” says Gadot. “She’s curious and she’s warm and she’s loving and she’s very inclusive. She assumed the best out of everyone. ... She’s just wonderful.
“But, at the same time, she’s not trying to be perfect. She can be very vulnerable and she can be confused and naive and worried, but she is also fixed on her mission. I love everything about her because I think that because she’s not perfect, she’s whole and interesting.”
About five months before production got underway, Gadot went through rigorous training to learn how to fight.
“We did a lot of different types of martial arts but we mostly focused on our fight choreography, just because there were so many fight scenes and time was limited,” says Gadot.
“I did a lot with swords too.” As for training for fitness, “I did a lot of boxing, just because I enjoy it and it helped me build my body and also it was very explosive, and explosive movement was something that was really important for my character.”
As grueling as the fight scenes were, Gadot soldiered through without any monumental mishaps.
“I was bruised all the time but nothing major. A mark here, a mark there. The most painful thing that happened to me is when we shot in Italy, we were filming this fight sequence and I just stepped on a sea urchin.
“That was painful. Other than that, honestly we got to work with such professionals that they made sure that once we got to set, we were 100 percent ready. There’s no room for any question marks or mistakes.”
Pine, for his part, insists he had the easiest job in the world: falling in love with Wonder Woman.
“I mean, look at Gal,” he says. “[She has that rare] combination of qualities: she’s physically very formidable and compelling and magnetic, but she’s also got an overwhelming warmth and a curiosity that’s very true, very childlike.
“When she smiles, it makes me giggle because it’s just pure. There’s a purity to [her] and that softness and that beauty and that strength: that’s to me the critical combination.
“Gal has it in spades and she doesn’t have to try all that hard to do it. My job was very easy. I got to come to work, fall in love with her, make her laugh as much as I could, flirt, and act like a jackass. I had a lot of fun.”