Shailyn Pierre-Dixon on playing beside Will Smith
Ontario teen stars as Deadshot’s daughter in ‘Suicide Squad’
TORONTO — Shailyn Pierre-Dixon of Caledon, Ont., can’t say much about the time she juggled school by day and supervillains by night.
As Deadshot’s daughter Zoe in the highly anticipated film “Suicide Squad,” the 13-year-old actor had to shoot her scenes early in the morning or late at night, surrounded by hundreds of screaming fans in downtown Toronto. When she wasn’t on set or sleeping, she was attending school.
How much screen time does she have? Did she get to ride in the Batmobile? Did she have any action sequences?
Unfortunately, in keeping with the secrecy surrounding the plot, she has to keep largely quiet until the film comes out Friday.
“They’ve been asking me so many questions at school and I’ve been trying so hard to keep it a secret, because I know I can get in a lot of trouble if I let them know,” she says.
“So I haven’t really spoken about it. I’ve just said that it was great working with him and that’s pretty much it.”
That “him” is Will Smith, who plays Deadshot, one of several supervillains recruited by the government to defeat an enigmatic entity.
Smith was “really funny and lightened the mood on set,” she says.
“He made me feel very comfortable and welcome when I got on set, every time. My grandma went on set one day with me and ... he gave her a hug and it was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen. Her face lit up and it was great.”
Pierre-Dixon also met cast members including Margot Robbie (“she was great”) and Cara Delevingne, who “was so nice and funny” — and salty-humoured.
“She was always cracking jokes and she made a swear jar thing with me because she swore a lot around me, so she gave me this money,” says Pierre-Dixon.
“It was a great experience with all of them.”
David Ayer wrote and directed the film, based on the DC Comics antihero team of the same name.
Pierre-Dixon got an audition based on her work in projects including “The Book of Negroes” and “Between.”
It was a dream role for the comic-book lover, who dressed as Batman for Halloween when she was just three.
“As soon as I got the audition, I thought, ‘If I’m working with Will Smith, it has to be big,’” she says.
When she got the part, her excitement resulted in a minor injury.
“I accidentally stubbed my toe because I was jumping around and I hit it on my door,” she says.
She got to keep some of the earrings her character wore and would love to be in a sequel, if there is one.
“I’m just excited to see it,” says Pierre-Dixon. “Even if I wasn’t in it, I would still just want to see it over and over again, because I love the idea of this movie and I was so happy being a part of it.
“Every time I hear something about it, I’m like, ‘I was in that!’ In my head, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, I am a part of this big thing!’” Another dream role of hers? Riri Williams, the black female teenager replacing Iron Man. That is, if they ever make a movie with her.