Interview with Gal Gadot, the Israeli-born Star of the aagerly awaited, Wonder Woman, which hits theaters June 2.
Female Role Models
Gal Gadot: I think that the biggest one that I followed was Maya Angelou, I loved her agenda and the way she was expressing herself and all of the messages that she had to say. I named my daughter, my youngest one, Maya. She had the most effect on me. Others were my mother of course and my grandmother, who were my immediate role models
Growing Up—
GG: The only thing that comes to my head right now, is the moment when you realize that your parents are only humans and they are not superheroes. I was brought up in a beautiful, warm, loving home and my dad was the figure that when he was in the house, you always felt safe and my mom was like, she drives the house and sets the tone. As a teenager I realized that’s okay, my parents are people as well and they are not all mighty necessarily.
Career Forward:
GG: Fame I am not paying attention to. It’s just a side effect and coming from Israel and being very famous in Israel for many years now, made me used to what is going on here with the paparazzi. So it’s just noise. And the only great thing about it is that now I don’t have to fight and go through exhausting auditions, now I get the script and if I like it I can do it, and if I don’t like it, I pass on it. And this is something that is mind blowing to me. And I do feel very grateful for that.
Most Surprising Challenge
GG: For me it was very important that we didn’t portray this character as a ball buster or as a cold woman just because she is so strong. And it was very important for me that people would be able, men and women and boys and girls, not only women, so it was important for me that this character would be universal and that everyone would be able to relate to her. And what I found is that if we show her flaws and we show that she is not perfect and she can be the greatest warrior and at the same time she can be naïve and curious and blunt and confident and focused on her mission but worried and not really knows what to do.
The fact that she is so multi-faced helps to show that she’s not perfect and the fact that she owns it, that she knows that she’s not perfect, for me that’s what makes her interesting and whole. That was a process I had to go through until I figured out who was the character that I would really like to show and see.
Youngest Daughter
GG: My youngest daughter, who is seven weeks now, is Maya. My older one is Alma, and Alma in ancient Hebrew means universe and in Spanish means soul, so I was looking for good meanings when I named my daughters. And I feel great bringing them into this world. Thankfully my husband is the one to control the sex and he gave me two beautiful healthy girls. I think that this movie is not only important for girls, it’s important for boys as well. We keep on talking about women empowerment and first thing, it’s important that girls will have a strong female figure to look up to, just like boys have. But at the same time, it’s important for boys to have a strong female figure to look up to because we can’t empower women without educating the men as well. It’s not one sided, we need both sides to be in this together. That’s also the way we show gender in such obvious way in the movie.
Being Compassionate:
GG: It really saddens me when you said that you don’t know why she really wants to help mankind. And that’s where it is me. I am a people person, I do love people, and when I meet people, I assume the best out of them and I can only be either continuing with this or be disappointed. But I am optimistic and I do see the goodness in people and I feel that we all have the same aspirations and we all have the same needs and dreams. And I am sure if you have kids, you want your kids to be healthy and to have a good future and to be happy. That’s something that all of us can relate to. Wonder Woman symbolizes in such great way kindness and warmth and acceptance and love. If each and every one of us will have more of that, we will have a better society.
Feeling like Wonder Woman
GG: When I have my girls. It’s cheesy, but when you deliver, you feel like you are a God. Oh my God, I made this! So the best feeling is to become a mother and to give life.
Training for Movie
GG: I was a dancer for 12 years and learning the fight choreography reminded me a lot of dancing. So I did really enjoy the fight choreography. I thought that I was going to love horse riding because it always looked so easy for me, but it’s not easy at all, it was super painful. But the horses were great. And the weapon I liked the most is he Lasso of Truth, because it’s not aggressive like the sword and it gets people through to actually be honest and have no mask and just say the truth.
Being Vulnerable
It was important for me to keep the character vulnerable. Specifically with Diana, with Wonder Woman, it was important for me that she be vulnerable. She is also the fish out of water and she comes to a new world that she has never been to before, she is this young idealist girl who believes in good and she thinks the world is super simple. Just by being that, she is already vulnerable, because she doesn’t understand the complexities of life. But I don’t see vulnerable necessarily as a weakness. She is who she is, and she can vulnerable too, that gives her a lot of leverage in different situations. But not every character I play has this type of vulnerability.
Costume
GG It was more comfortable than the one I wore in Batman V Superman, which I wore it for ten days. This one, I wore for, we were shooting this movie for six months, six days a week and it was very intensive but it was very important for me to feel comfortable in it so that I can fight and perform and feel at ease. As far as the design, I didn’t have much say, we pretty much continued what was already established in “Batman V Superman.” It was different, not in the looks, but in the cuts and I had seven different costumes that all looked the same but it was different fabric, different material, lighter, heavier, shinier, but it was more comfortable certainly.
Injuries while Shooting?
GG: I had tons of bruises and many bruises. It’s funny cause the hardest thing that happened to me, the most painful, was that I stepped on a sea urchin in Italy, while shooting a fight sequence. So that was painful. But other than this, I was pretty lucky, pretty safe.
Shooting in Italy
GG: Italy, we didn’t stop eating. I love London, Paris, Europe, I am a big fan, but we were almost shooting this entire movie in England in the Winter. And the costume didn’t cover much and we were shooting outside on location and it was freezing cold. So that was not much fun. And then Paris, we only shot for a few days. And then when we got to Italy, we were there for so many weeks, and we couldn’t stop eating, everyone, and we all gained, and it was refreshing. After being in England for the entire Winter, going to the beach, feeling some sun, getting some Vitamin D, it was great.
Doing Action Franchises
GG: They do have appeal to me. I was very active growing up and I always enjoyed using my body as a tool of expression. And my first movie ever was “Fast and the Furious” and my second role and my first movie ever. And I think that it kind of typecast me very fast. But I really enjoy it, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get to play Wonder Woman. I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and I know that I will have my opportunities to do heavy drama, but I love this so much.
UN Dropping Wonder Woman
GG: I was surprised that it was an issue, because at the end of the day, we tried to do something lovely and empowering and it was shut down. I just found it weird that with everything that is going on in the world, the problem they have is with us.
Working in Israel
GG: I am always open for it. There is something very, it’s funny because I am Israeli, but I did maybe three roles in Israel. Most of my career, I was working here. But there is something very comforting and very easy to play in your mother tongue. I will always be open to doing any role that is interesting for me and the appeal for me and the filmmaker is good.
