Jason Momoa and Gal Gadot Talk About Being Cast as AQUAMAN and WONDER WOMAN
It's going to be some time until we see Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Until then, we got a couple interviews with the aforementioned actors about the experience of being cast as superheroes.
Momoa sat down with AP and talked about how Zack Snyder convinced him to take the role despite the complete lack of a script. Momoa is giddy and a bit of a ham during the interview, but is very confident in what Snyder has planned for his character and future the Aquaman movie.
Gadot did a big interview with Israel This Week and SuperHeroHype forum user Omermer translated it into english. The interview is long and honestly very hard to read. Thankfully Den of Geek pulled out the most interesting bits.
She almost gave up on acting completely due to the grueling process of getting almost cast but ultimately rejected for many roles post Fast and Furious. But then Gadot got tapped for a secret audition for Wonder Woman, then didn't hear back for a month and a half, which she described as torture.
When the studio finally reached out to tell her the good news, she was in the middle of a flight to New York, completely unaware until she landed. Seeing that she had a bunch of missed calls, she called her agent who told her, "congratulations, you got the part!" She might have had a minor freak out as the passenger next to her asked if she was okay, she was absurdly excited.
Gadot then talks about the backlash she received:
"They said that I was too skinny and my boobs were too small. When I was younger, I would take criticism really hard. But it mostly amused me."
Apparently she gained a thick skin from dealing with Israeli press:
"They asked me here, in Israel, if I have eating disorders and why am I so skinny. They said my head was too big and my body was like a broomstick. I can take anything. It’s just empty talk. I understand that part of what I’m doing means being exposed. And part of being exposed is being under fire."
Gadot adds:
"Playing Wonder Woman is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I can't describe to you how much I wanted to play this character without even knowing I wanted to play her. I don't want to play a damsel in distress that needs to be saved. I don't like it when women in the movies are shown as the victims. I always thought that if I could send out a message I want to show the strong side of a woman and how she can handle tough situations."
I really like the casting of Momoa and Gadot and also trust that Snyder knows the universe he's building. I'm really hoping to see some crazy Batman v Superman footage during this year's Comic-con.