Taking on the role of Wonder Woman would be a life changing, career altering endeavor for any actress. But the opportunity was handed to Gal Gadot, and she plans on doing everything she can to make it a defining highlight in her life, now, as Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice prepares to open this spring. And well into the future, as the DC Comics superhero gets her own standalone adventure in 2017 and will also be included as part of the line-up in Justice League Part 1.
Gal Gadot recently sat down with Interview Magazine to discuss her participation and experiences in shooting Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for most of last year. Up until know, the actress has best been known as Gisele in Fast & Furious. And while that is one of the biggest action franchises on the planet, it will be Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice that truly puts her on the map, and brings her into view for everyone. Gal Gadot's version of Wonder Woman is the first ever brought to the big screen. She had to say this about taking on the massive challange, calling her iteration of the character an inspiration for men and woman of all ages and nationalities.
"Oh, my God, I'm so excited about this role. I feel like I've been given a huge opportunity to inspire people, not only women. And not because of me but because of who Wonder Woman is and what she stands for. There's a lot of responsibility. But I have the best team and the best people to work with. It's going to be an amazing ride, knock on wood."
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has come under its fair amount of scrutiny ever since being announced at 2013's Comic-Con. Every casting announcement was met with both joy and quite a bit of angry by longtime fans. Gal Gadot's confirmation as Wonder Woman was no different. Some thought she was too skinny to play the Amazonian princess. Others thought she was too obscure of an actress. Many simply wanted to complain for the sake of complaining. About all the Wonder Woman and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice backlash, Gal Gadot has a pretty healthy attitude.
"No matter what you do, you can never please them all. People will always have something to say because that's the way people are. And it's okay. But for me, it's my job. It's my career. It's my art. Whatever I do, I take it very seriously and I do my research and I give it my best. I just want to be able to shine and inspire people. And it's not just about me. It's the script and the story and the acting. I hope people are going to love it."
The action in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice comes easy for Gal Gadot. Despite her petite frame, she is actually highly trained in combat and motorcycling riding, having served a mandatory 2 years in the Israel Defense Forces. That doesn't mean she's only interested in taking on roles in action movies though. Before Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice opens in March next year, she will first be seen in January's Criminal, starring opposite Ryan Reynolds, Gary Oldman, Alice Eve and Kevin Costner. And opening the same month as the superhero epic is Triple Nine, which pits her against Kate Winslet and Chiwetel Ejiofor. As she tells it, she is open to just about anything in any genre.
"When I just started as an actress, you go to L.A. and the managers and the agency set up general meetings with directors and writers. They always ask you the same questions: "What are you looking for? What types of movie would you like to do?" And I always said, "I'm open." I'm very open to all different genres because I'm a very open-minded girl. But eventually, I told them that I wanted to be able to show the stronger side of women. I didn't want to do the obvious role that you see in Hollywood most of the time, which is the heartbroken girl who's waiting to be rescued by the guy, blah, blah, blah. I wanted to do something different. Little did I know that I would land Wonder Woman not long after."
Gal Gadot is also set to put comedy on her resume with Keeping Up with the Joneses, which sides her up with two very funny men, Zach Galifianakis and Jon Hamm. She is also continuing her modeling career as the new face of Gucci Bamboo fragrance. Miss Israel 2004 has certainly come a long way. But now matter what happens in the future, fans will always remember her best as Wonder Woman. So there is no wonder way she is taking the role so seriously. We also have photos from her exclusive Interview Magazine shoot.
