Newton discovers true powers as actor in film
‘Quantumania’ star emboldened to take risks by veteran cast
With “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” the 15-year-old Marvel Cinematic Universe ushers in its fifth phase and 31st film.
The third installment in the “Ant-Man” franchise, “Quantumania” is the first in which actor Kathryn Newton assumes the role of Ant-Man/Scott Lang’s daughter Cassie, formerly played by Abby Ryder Fortson in the first two standalone “Ant-Man” films and Emma Fuhrmann in “Avengers: Endgame.” Now 17, Cassie is an outspoken advocate and quantum mechanics whiz who is beginning to follow in her father’s footsteps in more ways than one.
But the way Newton talks about her character calls to mind a certain other superhero, SpiderMan. “She’s using her power for good,” said Newton of Cassie, whom she also describes as a “neighborhood hero.” “What she doesn’t realize (though) is that with great power comes great responsibility.”
The film fleshes out the sprawling multiverse’s latest Big Bad, Kang the Conqueror (played by Jonathan Majors), a timetraveling entity with immeasurable power (and innumerable variants).
Working alongside Majors was like a crash course in acting, Newton said. “He’s an incredible actor. He brought out so much in me that I didn’t even know was possible.”
Rounding out the cast are Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Michael Douglas as Hank Pym, the elder Ant-Man, as well as Michelle Pfeiffer as Janet van Dyne and Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne, who have both assumed the mantle of the Wasp. Most of the film takes place in the microscopic
dimension known as the quantum realm, which means Newton spent a lot of time acting opposite thin air. “Everything’s happening really fast, and you feel ridiculous in the scenes,” she said. “You feel really out of your body acting with nothing (there).”
This interview with Newton has been edited for clarity and length.
Q: Was it hard being a newcomer to a preestablished cast? A:
I was a little nervous because it’s my first Marvel movie, and the cast are all legends, but I didn’t need to be because as soon as I walked on set, I felt like it was exactly where I belonged. Everyone wants you to shine, everyone wants you to do a great job. So I really felt empowered to try things, to take risks and make a fool of myself if I had to because they were
there to catch me. They trusted me, and I trusted them.
Q: What was it like training and learning fight choreography?
A:
My training was about being in shape, so I could have stamina on set. I wanted to be able to do my own stunts and run around all day and really give it 100%. It also meant learning how to fall and not get hurt, learning how to take a fake punch and make it look real. But it was really important that Cassie felt like a normal kid put in a situation where she thinks she can be a hero but realizes she has no idea what she’s doing. It was really important to make sure she didn’t look cool at all.
Q: What was it like the first time you tried on your suit? A:
The first time I tried on my suit was after six
months of them working on it, and it fit perfectly. There were hardly any alterations (needed) at all. But I feel the camera test really solidified that I was Cassie Lang. We finally had the brown wig and the makeup right. And seeing the whole crew (react to) me, Paul and Evangeline all together was magical. It really felt like “Oh yeah, this is a superhero family.”
Q: What was it like working alongside Jonathan Majors?
A:
Working with Jonathan was such a game changer for me because he brings so much to the set and to the brief moments I had with him in this movie. We talked about our characters’ history together in the comics and where they could go (storywise), not because we’re thinking about it in the scene, but because it’s fun to play with the encyclopedia of comics that Marvel has offered us.
Q: What did you learn from him on an acting level?
A:
He knew so much about Cassie, and I thought that was brilliant. So now whenever I do a project, I try to learn more about the other characters. Now I want to know every character in the scene’s wants and needs and history because that serves the whole movie. It makes so much sense. And I also learned that it’s OK to take up space if you do it gracefully. The first time I met him, he was so sweet. And then we went on set, and I didn’t know he was a Method actor. I was talking to him as Kathryn like, “Hey, what are you thinking?” And he just looked at me and laughed. And Paul was like, “He’s being Kang right now.” I had no idea. When someone does something like that, it changes the way you think about how you carry yourself. It always made me feel more grounded. We’d be in a scene for seven days, and when you’re doing a scene that long, you’ve got to keep it fresh somehow. So sometimes I think it might be easier to just be a Method actor than have to go into Cassie and Kathryn and then back to Cassie again. You get very lost.
Q: So what’s your approach toward acting? A:
I’m a little more like Paul Rudd: I like to lean into what’s on the page, lean into my other actors. I like to listen and leave room for play. Paul taught me to not hold back, which seems so simple, but when you’re given an opportunity like a Marvel movie, you think a lot about the fans and about not failing, and things like that hold you back. It takes up too much space in your brain. So he gave me permission to have fun. And from that day forward, I tried many jokes, and I failed many times, but we found a lot of greatness in those opportunities.
Q: What do you say to people who criticize Marvel films as being “not real cinema?”
A:
I say you haven’t seen “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” My experience of making this movie was more like Shakespeare, improv . ... It was more real acting than I’ve ever done in any other project. It required everything. I’ve never talked about character so much. I’ve never talked about story so much. And the audience and what the fans are going to think because they’re as much a part of influencing the story as the comics. So I don’t know. I’m not the one to say what cinema is. But I’ll tell you one thing: I love these movies. I always have and I probably always will. As an actor, I grew a lot, and as a fan, I really enjoyed this film.