The Wonder of You - an interview with Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman has thrown her back out. Israeli actress Gal Gadot, the unimaginably beautiful and cheerful actress who is set to dominate Hollywood in her new role as the legendary superhero, cannot sit down. Dressed all in white, she stands in a Los Angeles studio beside her co-star Chris Pine, who is seated. With a wink and a hair flip, she utters one sentence that shows that Wonder Woman is being played by the right woman.
“I like to feel superior, standing over the men,” she jokes.

After making a cameo in Batman V. Superman, Gadot is starring in the long-awaited adaptation of Wonder Woman, the demigoddess and warrior princess of the Amazons. Wonder Woman has been held up as a feminist icon for decades – and was even portrayed by Gloria Steinem on the cover of Ms. magazine in 1971. Gadot is proud of the feminist history of the character, and of the feminist label itself.

“I think there’s such a misunderstanding now over what it is to be a feminist,” opines the 32-year-old actress. “Even women sometimes get defensive about it, saying ‘Oh no, I’m not a feminist.’ We should all be feminists. Feminism is all about choice and freedom and equality, and this is something that Wonder Woman represents. She doesn’t pay any attention to gender, because as far as she knows, growing up on an island with no men, she just assumes that men are the same as she is; people are judged on their own qualities. Gender doesn’t and shouldn’t define someone’s worth.”

In 2016, Wonder Woman was named as an Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls by the UN, and it was at the ceremony that Gadot met actress Lynda Carter, who famously played the heroine in the 1970s television series.

“From the very first moment I met Lynda I totally understood why she was the original Wonder Woman,” says Gadot. “She has such a special energy. She turned to me at one point, and she held a pen out behind her, and gave it to me the way Olympians do – like passing the torch! That meant a lot to me, and of course I kept the pen!”

Gadot trained for six months before shooting the action-fuelled film, learning horseback riding, martial arts and swordplay. But gruelling physical regimens aren’t new for Gadot. In 2004, the same year she won Miss Israel, Gadot was conscripted in the Israeli army, as is custom for all residents. While serving, Gadot was a combat trainer and received weapons training, though for the film, director Patty Jenkins ensured that the Amazon battle scenes had a unique and feminine style, embodying a form of elegant strength.
“It was great, both shooting and even as a movie-goer,” gushes the actress. “When I first saw those sequence with the Amazons on [their utopian island] Themyscira, I was blown away. I think it’s so original, and it hit me how weird it is that we haven’t seen anything like that. How many times have we seen battle sequences with men, from war films to boxing films, and films like 300? But to see women do it in their style was wonderful. It wasn’t masculine at all – it was completely different and unique.”

As the Amazons are strong, powerful and wise warriors, it’s no wonder that director Patty Jenkins picked some bad-ass veteran actresses to play them, including House Of Cards star Robin Wright, and Gladiator actress Connie Nielsen. Gadot says that the girl power on set was palpable.

“Working with all the women was a blast, they were so supportive,” she says. “And when we were filming in Italy, all the actresses flew in with their families. Then when we were training on the beach, all the men were walking around with baby strollers – it felt like a new age, it was very refreshing!”

Gadot herself gave birth to her second daughter just two months ago, and is thrilled that her daughters will get to see her play such a complex character.

“What attracted me to this character is that she’s so many different things,” says the actress. “She’s the greatest warrior in the comics, but she can also be vulnerable, sensitive, confident, confused – everything, all at once. And she never hides her intelligence or emotions. What a role model!”

Wonder Woman is in cinemas from June 1.