No Wonder she’s exhausted
Gal Gadot gears up for iconic comic-book role
LOS ANGELES — A striking Gal Gadot is sure of one thing as she sits on a sofa promoting Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
She’s thoroughly jet-lagged, having arrived from England, where the Israeli-born actress is filming her headlining role in the Wonder Woman picture.
Despite the travel haze, the 30-year-old does her best to make sense of what she admits is sometimes difficult to fathom.
Her Wonder Woman is part of an ambitious plan to jumpstart a multi-film franchise from the DC Comics universe, which begins with the Zack Snyder-directed Batman v Superman blockbuster.
In the latest special- effects epic, Gadot’s Wonder Woman joins forces with Ben Affleck’s Batman and Henry Cavill’s Superman to confront Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) and his plan for world domination. But that’s after Batman and Superman attempt to resolve a dispute in Metropolis.
As the movie is poised to set box-office records, there is the Wonder Woman stand-alone feature set for a June 2017 release along with a Justice League film ready to start shooting next month.
The former model made her Hollywood movie debut just five years ago playing Vin Diesel’s love interest Giselle in Fast and Furious. She returned to play the character in Fast Five, Fast & Furious 6 and Furious 7. Gadot also had smaller roles in Tom Cruise’s secret agent flick Knight and Day and the Tina Fey comedy Date Night.
Gadot, who served in the Israeli army, also understands her Wonder Woman is more than a costume hanger for the tiara, the Amazonian bracelets, the sword, the shield and the lasso of truth.
Weariness aside, she offers her thoughts: On presenting Wonder Woman as more than a superhero: “I have a four-yearold daughter and she adores princesses, but at the same time she will tell me the princess is so weak,” Gadot says. “It so important for girls and boys to have a strong (female) superhero to look up to.”
On preparing for the portrayal: “I have a lot of respect for this character,” Gadot says of Wonder Woman. “I studied her a lot, and I educated myself about her, and love everything she stands for — love, truth, justice and compassion. She’s a whole lot of woman.”
On coping with the preproduction months of kick boxing, sword fighting and martial arts drills: “I grew up as sporty kind of person. I was also a dancer for 12 years.”