A superhero on and off the screen. Gal Gadot opened up about her influential role in Wonder Woman and candidly defended women’s rights in a new interview.
“Wonder Woman comes to the United States to fight for women’s rights, because this is the last bastion of possibility of equal rights for women,” Gadot, 32, explained to Rolling Stone in a profile published on Thursday, August 24. “People always ask me, ‘Are you a feminist?’ And I find the question surprising, because I think, ‘Yes, of course. Every woman, every man, everyone should be a feminist. Because whoever is not a feminist is a sexist.’ … I’ve had my moments where I’ve felt like men were misbehaving — nothing sexual, but inappropriate in a sexist way. Dismissive. Life wasn’t always rosy and peachy for me as a woman in the world.”
After being cast as Wonder Woman, the Israeli actress she had a responsibility to speak on behalf of women’s rights issues and defy stereotypes. “I didn’t want to play the cold-hearted warrior. We didn’t want to fall into the cliches,” she told the magazine. “We didn’t want to treat the misogyny in a preaching way. We wanted to surprise the audience. We wanted to bring some naivety. Being the mother of two girls, I’m like, ‘We need more naivety. Everyone is too in their head.’”
The blockbuster’s director, Patty Jenkins, recently opened up to Us Weekly exclusively about working with Gadot, who she said was perfect for the role. “She is the kindest, sweetest, most beautiful brave badass I’ve ever met in my life, and she was a pleasure to work with,” Jenkins, 46, told Us in June. “Being famous, being successful, all of those things are so secondary to Gal. She took so seriously living up to all of the duty of a role like this, and that’s your wildest dream for a superhero movie.”
Since its June 2 premiere, Wonder Woman has earned more than $375 million in North America, according to Forbes. Wonder Woman 2 is set to hit theaters on December 13, 2019.
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